James’ office described Kalshi’s event contracts as bets and said the platform takes wagers on professional and college sports, elections and culture. The lawsuit alleges Kalshi allows users aged 18 to 20 to wager and lists markets involving New York college teams, both prohibited for licensed sportsbooks in the state.
“New York’s gambling laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in the statement. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple.”
The World Cup helped boost Kalshi’s numbers, adding 3 million during the course of the tournament, according to CNBC. That’s more than double the 2 million the firm said it had at the start of May.
According to the attorney general’s statement, the lawsuit follows an October cease-and-desist order from the New York State Gaming Commission.
A federal judge denied Kalshi’s bid to block state regulators on July 7 and rejected an injunction pending appeal on July 27.
CoinDesk approached Kalshi for comment outside of regular U.S. office hours, and had not heard back by publication time.