Kalshi’s attempt to stay a preliminary injunction that will force the prediction exchange to geoblock the vast majority of its products in Nevada was denied Wednesday by the Nevada Supreme Court. The formal denial of Kalshi’s motion to stay, signed by a panel of three state justices: Linda Marie Bell, Ron D. Parraguirre, and Kristina Pickering, places the responsibility of geoblocking Nevada residents from Kalshi’s most popular products squarely on the prediction platform.
“Having considered the parties’ arguments… we are not persuaded that the factors militate in favor of a stay,” reads the ruling, which was uploaded to X by Forbes contributor and gaming attorney Daniel Wallach. “Accordingly, the motion is denied.”
The original ruling from the First Judicial District Court (Carson City, Storey County) grants the Nevada Gaming Control Board a preliminary injunction, which allows the NGCB to impose its state gambling laws and require Kalshi to obtain a sports betting license to operate within Nevada’s borders.
Once Kalshi’s geolocation restrictions go into effect for Nevada (assuming the company complies with the preliminary injunction), account holders in the state will no longer be able to use the platform to trade on the outcomes of sports contests, elections, or entertainment awards. The restrictions, if they go beyond cross-referencing registered IP addresses, will be similar to what Kalshi account holders in Michigan will soon face:
Theoretically, some of Kalshi’s markets, such as those linked to the performance of individual stocks or digital assets, could still be made accessible. However, it is unknown how or if Kalshi will host permissible markets separately (through a state-specific app).
An evidentiary hearing will be held in the First Judicial District Court on July 16th, where the court will rule on the NGCB’s request to hold Kalshi in contempt for failing to comply with the preliminary injunction granted to the state’s gaming regulatory body on April 3rd of this year. The preliminary injunction provided Kalshi with 30 days (until May 4th) to implement georestrictions within Nevada’s borders. However, Nevada gaming investigators claim they have been able to access Kalshi’s sports contracts subsequent to that date.
If Kalshi is found to be in contempt, it could face daily fines up to $120,000 or a disgorgement (forfeiture) of all revenue that the exchange has generated since the court’s April 3rd ruling. Either way, Wednesday’s denial of a motion to stay by the Nevada Supreme Court places immediate uncertainty on Kalshi’s near-term product offering in the state.
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