Kalshi asks Washington court to lift injunction on prediction markets

Kalshi has filed a motion asking Washington State Superior Court to reconsider the preliminary injunction that halted most of its prediction market operations in the state, according to Gaming Intelligence.

The filing argues that Kalshi's status as a CFTC-designated contract market grants it federal authority that Washington state gambling law cannot override — the same preemption argument the company is advancing in Nevada and through Novig's litigation campaign in Wisconsin and four other jurisdictions.

The Washington injunction, granted earlier this month, affected a broad range of Kalshi contracts beyond sports-adjacent markets, making it one of the most expansive state-level restrictions the company has faced. The reconsideration motion puts the question back before the same judge who issued the original order.

No ruling date has been set. If the court declines to reconsider, Kalshi's next step would likely be an appellate challenge on federal preemption grounds — the same track its Connecticut litigation has followed. A decision in Washington either way will inform how other state regulators read the boundary between CFTC oversight and local gambling enforcement.