Massachusetts Attorney General amends lawsuit against Kalshi, adds allegations of marketing to users under 21

Mars Finance reports that on July 1, a judge of the Massachusetts Superior Court approved an amended complaint submitted by the state Attorney General against prediction market platform Kalshi. The amendment adds multiple new allegations on top of the original claims of the alleged illegal provision of sports betting services.

The amended complaint states that Kalshi allows users aged 18 and older to participate in trading sports event contract contracts, and is allegedly using social media and marketing on university campuses to attract users under 21. It also says the advertisements use images of young people who appear to be under 21.

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office believes that Kalshi has not obtained permission from the state gaming commission and is therefore suspected of violating local laws related to sports betting.

Legal disputes between Kalshi and multiple U.S. states over the legality of sports prediction markets are still ongoing. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) previously filed a brief with the court, arguing that prediction markets fall under the scope of the Commodity Exchange Act and should be regulated uniformly at the federal level rather than by individual states.