Kalshi Settles Nevada Contempt Case — Agrees to GeoComply Geofencing as Hearing Is Canceled
Kalshi has reached a settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board, canceling contempt proceedings triggered by evidence that NGCB investigators successfully purchased prohibited contracts eight times while physically inside Nevada. Under the deal, Kalshi must deploy a GeoComply-based geofencing system by August 12 or face $120,000-per-day fines. The settlement also defines the geofencing standard: a commercial multi-source system from a recognized vendor, not an in-house IP-blocking tool.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board and Kalshi have agreed to a settlement ending the state's contempt proceedings — proceedings triggered by evidence that NGCB investigators successfully purchased prohibited event contracts on Kalshi's platform eight times in four days while physically located inside Nevada, defeating Kalshi's in-house geofencing tool. Under the deal, Kalshi must implement GeoComply's multi-source geofencing system and have it operational by August 12. Failure to meet that deadline triggers $120,000 in daily fines. NGCB Chair Mike Dreitzer confirmed Kalshi had already begun implementation when the agreement was announced on July 24.
For UK readers, the GeoComply detail is technically significant. GeoComply is the dominant geolocation provider for licensed US gambling operators: it is used by DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, and virtually every state-licensed sportsbook in the United States to ensure that wagers are placed within state boundaries as required by US federal and state law. GeoComply's technology uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation, IP data, and mobile device signals — a multi-source approach that is significantly harder to defeat than a single-source IP-based system. The UK Gambling Commission requires licensed operators to implement geolocation checks that meet similar multi-source standards for age verification and location confirmation. Kalshi's original May compliance attempt used a $190,000 in-house IP tool that GeoComply's own senior vice president testified could be built to proper standard in one to two weeks — making Kalshi's argument that compliant geofencing was technically prohibitive difficult to sustain in court.
The settlement sets a de facto compliance standard for prediction markets facing state geofencing orders. The question of what counts as adequate geolocation blocking — which US courts had not previously defined specifically for prediction market operators — now has an answer in the Nevada record: a commercial multi-source system from a recognized geolocation vendor. Michigan's August 12 geofencing deadline for Kalshi also involves GeoComply, meaning both states have convergently required the same vendor and the same technical approach. This has implications for other platforms: Polymarket, Robinhood's Rothera, and other CFTC-registered exchanges operating under state restrictions in the same jurisdictions will face the same defined standard if their own geofencing is tested.
The Nevada settlement resolves the most acute immediate confrontation in Kalshi's regulatory calendar. The underlying Nevada litigation — the May 18 preliminary injunction — remains in force and the NGCB's enforcement case continues. What the settlement ends is the contempt track: instead of a judicial finding of contempt, Kalshi has a defined compliance path and a vendor engaged. The August 12 deadline arriving simultaneously in both Nevada and Michigan means that by the time the NFL regular season begins in September, Kalshi's geofencing either works to the GeoComply standard or daily fines are accruing in two states simultaneously. The NFL season is the highest-volume period for sports event contracts across all platforms, which is also why the compliance question is highest-stakes precisely now.
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Recent updates
Utah Files Felony Charges Against Kalshi and Its Founders — Second State to Criminally Charge a Platform
Utah filed criminal charges against Kalshi and its two co-founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, on October 28 — 13 felonies and a misdemeanour, including a second-degree 'pattern of unlawful criminal activity' count and 12 counts of online gambling promotion. The charges stem from a September sting in which an undercover agent placed 12 sports wagers verified to be in Utah. The CFTC sued Utah the day before to block state enforcement, its tenth such suit. Utah is the second state after Arizona to criminally charge Kalshi, and the first to charge the founders personally. Kalshi called it a 'crazy overreach.'
NBA Names Kalshi and Polymarket Preferred Exchanges — Leaving the NFL Alone in Opposition
The NBA announced on October 26 that it has named Kalshi and Polymarket its 'preferred prediction market exchanges,' signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the CFTC on basketball integrity, and expanded its DraftKings deal to include prediction markets — the first league to extend a sportsbook partnership into the category. The exchange deals bar league and team personnel from trading NBA contracts, limit permissible markets, and require sharing suspicious-trading data, in exchange for NBA intellectual property and official data. The NBA joins MLB, the NHL, and MLS as partnered leagues, leaving the NFL as the lone major holdout — and the only league fighting the platforms in court.
CFTC Chair Says Agency Is Watching Prediction Markets for Manipulation Ahead of Midterms
CFTC Chairman Michael Selig said on October 23 that the agency is closely monitoring prediction markets for manipulation ahead of the November 3 midterms, and that it is separately scrutinising oil market trading tied to President Trump's announcements about the war in Iran. Combined midterm open interest on Kalshi and Polymarket stood at $250 million as of October 18, with Kalshi holding 84%. Selig acknowledged the agency often catches political figures trading 'oftentimes after the fact.' The remarks highlight the CFTC's dual role as both the platforms' federal protector and their manipulation watchdog.