Utah filed a total of 14 charges related to illegal gambling against prediction platform Kalshi and its two founders, citing 12 sports bets placed on the platform by an undercover officer.
According to CoinDesk, the criminal case was filed against KalshiEX LLC and its founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara. The criminal charges add to the state’s earlier civil action and extend to the company’s founders as well as the company itself.
Undercover officer’s 12 trades cited as evidence
An undercover officer from the Utah Attorney General’s Office accessed the platform in September using a local address, phone number, and bank card. Prosecutors cite the 12 separate sports bets placed by the officer as the basis for their claim that Kalshi promoted illegal gambling within the state.
The case includes one felony charge alleging a connected unlawful enterprise, 12 charges of promoting online gambling, and one lower-level gambling charge. These are allegations by prosecutors, not a conviction against Kalshi.
Kalshi is a federally regulated prediction market where contracts tied to the outcomes of events such as elections, sporting events, economic data, and weather are traded. The company has previously argued that its sports contracts are not gambling but financial derivatives subject to federal oversight. It had not responded to the new charges at the time of publication.
From civil lawsuit to criminal case involving the founders
In a civil lawsuit filed a few days earlier, Utah had asked the court to stop Kalshi from accepting bets from state residents and to recover the profits it allegedly earned in the state. The new case creates a separate criminal proceeding from those claims.
Meanwhile, the jurisdictional dispute between the CFTC and Utah continues. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission had sued Utah, arguing that the federal government has the authority to regulate these contracts. The state, for its part, maintains that the activity is subject to its gambling laws.
Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Nevada are also among the states that have taken various actions against Kalshi, including criminal charges, civil lawsuits, or access restrictions. Polymarket is also facing similar state-level gambling allegations.
Not investment advice.