Michigan AG Seeking Contempt of Court Charges Against Kalshi
David Genge Published 23/10/2026
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a motion seeking to have the prediction market site Kalshi held in contempt of court. She is alleging that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-registered prediction market is targeting ads at Michigan residents. This is being done despite Kalshi facing a preliminary injunction barring it from doing so.
The pursuit of contempt charges is a sign that Michigan is ready and willing to escalate this battle and go beyond cease-and-desist letters. Further legal action would leave prediction market operators like Kalshi facing the choice of implementing expensive geofences or merely pulling their sports-event contracts out of the state.
Michigan AG Nessel is ready to aggressively step up legal action against Kalshi
Nessel is asking Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina to hold Kalshi in contempt. It was Aquilina who imposed the original preliminary injunction against the prediction market site. Her contempt request says that Kalshi has continued advertising its sports contracts in Michigan. These ads have run after a court ban on both trading and marketing took effect on September 1.
According to reporting by State Affairs, a regulation specialist from the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) presented evidence of receiving email promotions for Kalshi's sports-event contracts to her Kalshi account after that ban had been implemented. The state presented other evidence from a different account holder that was encouraging them to participate in Kalshi sports-event contracts on upcoming NFL games. A third person who is not a Kalshi account holder provided evidence of being contacted with video ads for Kalshi's sports-event contracts.
Judge Aquilina's September 1 preliminary injunction prohibits Kalshi from advertising, promoting, or marketing sports-event contracts to Michigan residents or anyone holding a Michigan address. Also on the prohibited list are websites, mobile apps, emails, push notifications, social media, influencers, affiliates, and paid placements.
Other prediction market sites are exiting the state
While Kalshi appears to be adopting a policy of defiance, rival prediction market sites are opting to bow out of the Michigan market.
Coinbase stopped offering sports-event contracts across the state of Michigan. The halt to its operations went into effect on October 10.
In September, the MGCB announced that Robinhood Derivatives, LLC had agreed to stop offering new sports-related event contracts to Michigan customers. The company also agreed to close out any remaining customer positions by October 9.
“Sports wagering products should only be offered by operators who are licensed, regulated, and held accountable under Michigan law," MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams said in a statement. "We’ll keep working with the Attorney General’s office to make sure Michigan consumers are protected.”
Kalshi and Michigan have engaged in a long-term battle
This Michigan vs. Kalshi showdown has been going on since last March. That's when Nessel's office filed suit against Kalshi. The suit alleged that the derivatives exchange and prediction market company violated Michigan’s Lawful Sports Betting Act. Lawyers for Kalshi unsuccessfully attempted to get the suit moved from state to federal court.
In June, Nessel's office was granted a temporary restraining order by the Ingham County Circuit Court. The order barred Kalshi from offering or advertising sports-event contracts in Michigan until further order of the court.
Then in September, the court granted a preliminary injunction stopping Kalshi from unlawfully offering online sports wagers in the state.
The preliminary injunction requires Kalshi to maintain geofencing to block Michigan residents. Violations of this order are supposed to result in a fine of $500,000 per day. However, there's no evidence that any fines have been levied.