With all the high numbers of sportsbooks and betting partners working to make their mark across the planet, it’s no secret that more and more are working to keep growing in Nevada. With Las Vegas being a sports betting capital of the world, this adds to things. Well, some bad news has come in from an outlet on the rise. That’s because Kalshi sports betting has been temporarily banned in Nevada.
This news just dropped this month, as a temporary restraining order was approved, blocking sports betting in the state through Kalshi. The timing of this is quite significant, as the NCAA Tournament is here for the men’s and women’s teams at the college level. People are consistently checking the Las Vegas odds for those games, but people who want to place bets on those contests can’t use Kalshi.
“Kalshi has repeatedly stated that its operations are legal in 50 states, which is clearly not true,” Mike Dreitzer, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, said in a recent press release. “Prediction markets, to the extent they facilitate unlicensed gambling, are illegal in Nevada, and we have a statutory duty to protect the public. We want people in the state to wager safely at a licensed book.”
There’s been plenty of drama surrounding Kalshi in recent months, as people and betting users have been raising potential red flags when it comes to futures bets. This is something that has forced for legal action to take place, which is why the TRO has been put in effect. At this time, it’s unknown when that ban will get lifted, but it’s interesting to see that such a drastic move has been made.
NEW: Nevada accuses Kalshi of trying to create a judicial “no man’s land” where "it can continue to operate unlawfully forever and no court can touch its operations," citing Kalshi's "baseless removal", "baseless appeal" and stay motion as part of a delay strategy to evade a TRO. pic.twitter.com/Q3iKOzxzbe
Kalshi is working to get things lifted as soon as possible
As you might have been able to guess, Kalshi is working to get things lifted as soon as possible, as their legal team feels as if though this has come in from out of nowhere. The push here is going to be a bit difficult, however, as while Kalshi has adamantly said that its operations are legal in all 50 states, federal judges seem to strongly disagree with that.
Nevada of course isn’t the only state who has voiced their displeasure with the platform. Right before Nevada decided to take legal action here, Arizona reportedly filed criminal charges against Kalshi, which raised a ton of eyebrows. With that, Nevada followed suit and the expectation is that others states where there’s legal sports betting could potentially do the same.
As for legal sports betting, did you know that the legal Las Vegas sportsbooks that we work with are consistently offering up tremendous bonus codes and promotions for you to take a look at? Sites like Bovada, BetOnline and others indeed are consistently pushing some pretty great specials out and there’s no better time to take a look at them than now.
Now surely would be a good time, especially with Kalshi’s operations in Nevada being brought down for now. Again, we’re not sure how long this TRO is going to be in place for, but it sure seems like state officials are not happy with what’s been going on and they’re going to push for Kalshi to not be allowed to operate locally in the future. We’ll see how things shape out here.
Super Bowl betting played a big role in Kalshi being halted in Nevada
So, what led to people getting so upset in the first place here? According to a report, Super Bowl betting played a big role in Kalshi being halted in Nevada. That’s because the reported numbers for sports betting on Kalshi for the Super Bowl were well over $800 million. This raised plenty of eyebrows and not in a good way at all, as members of congress in Nevada saw this as a huge problem.
Super Bowl betting is always going to be massive in Nevada, as countless people plan yearly vacations to Vegas for the game for their sports betting needs. However, when more than $800 million is being placed through a controversial sports betting outlet like this instead of an authorized sportsbook, it’s a major problem and it’s something people in Nevada don’t want to see continue.
The Seattle Seahawks ended up winning the Super Bowl title this last year, taking down the New England Patriots. The Vegas sportsbooks saw their betting handle skyrocket for the game, which was expected. However, knowing Kalshi has such a big impact on betting across the country wasn’t ideal and it’s something that will be focused on moving forward. If Nevada has its way, Kalshi won’t have things up for next year’s Super Bowl.
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Braulio Perez is a sports writer with more than 10 years of experience in journalism. He's a graduate of Washington State University. He has covered NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA and more for multiple publications. Braulio currently resides in New York City.