Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit in state court on November 12, 2026, against Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Coinbase and Gemini, alleging the platforms violate the state's gambling and sports wagering laws by offering event contracts tied to sports, awards and elections.
Kalshi has asked a court for an emergency order against the state, setting up a dispute over which authority regulates the products.
What Louisiana is seeking
The suit seeks an immediate temporary restraining order and an injunction. In practical terms, the state wants the platforms to stop offering the contracts in question quickly rather than after prolonged litigation.
Murrill emphasized that prediction markets could allow people to wager on a wide range of subjects.
One suit, five platforms
The group of defendants spans different business models. Kalshi and Polymarket are dedicated prediction-market operators, Robinhood is a retail brokerage, and Coinbase and Gemini are crypto exchanges. Louisiana is treating all five as participants in the same activity regardless of how each describes its business.
The filing marks the first time Louisiana has combined its enforcement efforts against a broad group of prediction-market platforms into a single lawsuit, targeting the category rather than individual companies.
Federal versus state arguments
Kalshi filed a preemptive federal suit on October 23, 2026, in the Western District of Louisiana. Polymarket has also filed in federal court. Both companies argue that the Commodity Exchange Act, a federal law governing commodities and derivatives trading, preempts state law.
The companies have also pointed to regulatory changes in effect since August 2026 as support for that argument.
The platforms went to federal court first to argue the state has no authority, while the state has turned to its own courts to argue that it does. Kalshi is now seeking an emergency order to keep the state at bay while the dispute is sorted out. As of November 12, 2026, no final rulings have resolved any of the cases filed in Louisiana.
How Louisiana got here
In 2025, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board issued an advisory stating that sports event contracts constitute gambling under state law. New legislation passed in 2026 expanded the definitions and penalties related to unauthorized gambling activity.
Louisiana is not alone in pursuing the issue. Active enforcement actions against similar platforms have been reported in at least 12 other states as of November 2026, though Louisiana's decision to name five companies in one filing stands out.
What it means for platforms and users
The most immediate stakes are operational. If Louisiana wins its restraining order or injunction, the named platforms could be forced to stop offering sports, awards and election contracts to users in the state, at least while the broader case plays out.
The inclusion of Coinbase and Gemini alongside dedicated prediction-market operators suggests states are not drawing a meaningful distinction based on the type of platform.
Key developments to watch include the response to Kalshi's emergency request, any ruling on Louisiana's restraining order, and how the federal suits from Kalshi and Polymarket proceed in parallel. The preemption question is central: if federal courts agree the Commodity Exchange Act controls, state gambling statutes may have limited reach over these contracts. If they do not, Louisiana and the at least 12 other states taking action could have a much stronger hand.
