Michigan residents who use Kalshi to predict the outcomes of sports events could soon be impacted by a Michigan state court ruling in the ongoing legal battle between prediction markets and gaming regulators.
On Monday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of Michigan’s 30th Judicial Circuit Court (Ingham County) granted the state’s request to block Kalshi from offering event contracts related to sports outcomes within the Great Lakes State.
“Michigan and its most vulnerable citizens are suffering and will continue to suffer immediate and irreparable harm absent relief from being exploited by Kalshi’s sports betting operation masquerading as an investment opportunity,” stated Judge Aquilina in an official ruling on Monday that was uploaded to X by gaming attorney and Forbes contributor Daniel Wallach.
“If Kalshi is allowed to continue to offer sports wagers, the potential irreparable harm on Michigan’s youth would be profound. Second, Kalshi takes advantage of serious mental health issues without providing the protections that MI’s regulatory structure was designed to do.”
On Monday, a Kalshi spokesperson told US gaming analyst and Next Event Horizon Substack author Dustin Gouker that it will comply with the Michigan state court’s temporary restraining order.
“It’s no surprise that we disagree with the state’s decision and will fight it in court,” stated the Kalshi spokesperson. “Kalshi is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction. We won’t be bullied by interests that care more about protecting their monopolies than their consumers. In the meantime, we’re implementing restrictions.”
According to Monday’s state court ruling, those “restrictions” will require Kalshi to use a third-party geolocation services company that is already approved by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. This points to GeoComply, which can identify a user’s location to within a few feet and geo-block a device in real time once it enters or leaves a designated geographical area.
Judge Aquilina stipulated that Kalshi may opt to contract with a different geolocation services firm outside of Michigan. However, Kalshi’s agreement with such a company to block Michigan residents from trading sports contracts would need to be approved beforehand.
Once Kalshi’s imposed restrictions are set in motion, Michigan customers may be affected in one or more of the following ways:
The precise timeline for when Kalshi traders within Michigan will be blocked from trading sports event contracts is unknown. However, we do know that Kalshi has relayed its intention to comply with the temporary restraining order issued Monday by Michigan’s 30th Judicial Circuit Court in Ingham County.
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