Wisconsin Sports Prediction Market Lawsuit: Court Rules Against CFTC and Kalshi
In a regulatory battle over the U.S. sports prediction market, a federal district court in Wisconsin has dismissed the CFTC's (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) request for a temporary restraining order, rejecting the claims of the CFTC and major prediction platforms to block the enforcement of state gambling laws.
The CFTC suffered a major defeat in Wisconsin. The federal court ruled that the request for a temporary restraining order was denied and determined that sports event contracts are not "swaps." Furthermore, even if the definition were met, the likelihood of the CFTC winning on the argument that the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) takes precedence over state law was deemed low.
On July 29, 2026, Federal District Judge William Griesbach issued a ruling rejecting the CFTC's request for an emergency temporary restraining order against Wisconsin.
This case originated from Wisconsin suing five companies—Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Coinbase—in April for offering sports-related prediction contracts without obtaining the necessary licenses, violating state gambling laws (Chapter 945).
In response, the CFTC had filed a lawsuit claiming "exclusive jurisdiction" over the derivatives market under federal regulation to stop the state's actions. However, the court ruled that registration with the CFTC does not immediately provide protection from state gambling laws. Additionally, the court dismissed the intervention requests from Kalshi and Crypto.com, which sought to participate in the lawsuit.
No Recognition of "State Law Priority" Under the Commodity Exchange Act
The focal point of this ruling was the principle of priority, whether federal law (the Commodity Exchange Act) takes precedence over state gambling regulations.
Judge Griesbach pointed out that federal law does not automatically invalidate Wisconsin's commercial gambling regulations. He suggested that the wording of the state's gambling laws could also apply to sports-related event contracts under federal regulation. Furthermore, it was noted that the CFTC had not sufficiently demonstrated "irreparable harm" as a basis for stopping the state's enforcement.
While the platforms claim their contracts are "financial products," state authorities consider them "de facto sports gambling," leading to a significant discrepancy in interpretations. This ruling aligns with a similar case in New York where such claims were dismissed.
Future Outlook and Impact on the Industry
According to legal expert Daniel Wallach, since complete federal priority was not recognized, the case is expected to be remanded to state court.
He analyzes that the state court may issue a temporary restraining order prohibiting the platforms from offering sports contracts within the state. The defeated CFTC and Kalshi are expected to appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
On the other hand, there have been cases in other regional appellate courts that have recognized federal law priority, indicating a growing divide in judgments. Attention is focused on which authority—federal or state—will lead the rapidly expanding U.S. prediction market as future courtroom battles unfold.
-- Price
This content is provided for general informational purposes only and doesn't constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Any events, rewards, online promotions, or related information mentioned herein should not be considered a recommendation, solicitation, or invitation to purchase, sell, trade, or otherwise deal in any crypto assets. Crypto assets are highly volatile and may result in loss. The availability of WEEX services, products, and related events may vary by region. You are responsible for ensuring that your participation is in accordance with applicable local laws and regulations.
You may also like

Kalshi plans 24/7 Tesla, Apple and Nvidia perps

唐华斑竹: StableJack Completes Ecosystem Integration with GOAT Flow

What AI Trading Needs is a Managed Workflow, Not Just Answers

Variational Swap Records $2.8 Billion in Trading Volume Within a Week of Launch

Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Supreme Court to Overturn Guilty Verdict

Empowa DeFi Platform Reports Theft of 143,710 ADA and 4,240,000 EMP

Teachers Can Apply for Deferral Through 'Reserve+'

How to Send Bitcoin from Indodax to Another Wallet Safely - Fintech World

Government Suspends Sergey Gursky from Position as Head of Shipping Administration

EU Surprised by Ukraine's $27 Billion Budget Deficit

Over 50 BTC Rescued from COLDCARD Vulnerability Wallet, Transferred to Crypto Recovery Trust

Solana’s 300ms speed boost to outrun trading bots might come with a hidden cost

Arthur Hayes: Flop Token Value Depends on AI Agent Transactions

Osmosis Freezes 22.65 BTC from Nomic Chain Attacker's Address

X-Agent Explores Real-World Task Automation

CoinCorner Partners with AnchorWatch to Launch Multi-Signature Bitcoin Custody Service with Lloyd's Insurance

Solana Mainnet Transaction Data Limit Increased to 4,096 Bytes

KDE Incorporates a Key Wayland Protocol for Video and Gaming into KWin

Meta Launches Personal AI Assistant Muse, Monthly Fee Up to $100

ARK Asks SEC To Approve Tokenized Share Class of Venture Fund

Tether AI Wallet Spending Limits, WDK Leaves Responsibility to Developers

ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok All Go Down: Why Is Everyone Suspecting Cloudflare?

Improvement in XRPL RPC Node Processing Capacity to 30,000 Messages per Second

Cyberattacks: ANSSI Can Now Impose Measures on Ministries with REACTIV
![[Interview] Stablecoins are Changing the Foreign Exchange Market — Barun Kumar, Co-founder of Hibachi.xyz](/public-static/26_2e1840f602.png?format=avif)
[Interview] Stablecoins are Changing the Foreign Exchange Market — Barun Kumar, Co-founder of Hibachi.xyz

US Court Seizes Some Virtual Assets Linked to North Korean IT Workers

European Commission Approves Purchase of Patriot Missiles for Ukraine Funded by €90 Billion Loan

Justin Sun Redeems 10,000 ETH from Lido Since August 26

Fake Friend Convinces Law Student to Transfer 1468 USDT









