Utah Attorney General Files Criminal Charges Against Prediction Market Kalshi in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County on October 28: 14 Counts Alleging Illegal Online Gambling Promotion
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah: Attorney General Derek Brown filed criminal charges on October 28 in Third District Court in Salt Lake County, accusing prediction market operator Kalshi and its two co-founders of illegally promoting online gambling in Utah. The defendants are KalshiEX LLC, Chief Executive Officer Tarek Mansour and Chief Operating Officer Luana Lopes Lara, facing 14 counts in total: one second-degree felony count of pattern of unlawful activity, 12 third-degree felony counts of online gambling promotion, and one Class A misdemeanor.
The charges rest on about 12 sports wagers an undercover state investigator placed from Utah in September, totaling about $114.87, involving professional football and baseball, a Utah versus Utah State football game, and a Real Salt Lake soccer match.
Brown had filed a civil suit against Kalshi around October 20, and on October 27 the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Utah in an effort to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws against the federally registered prediction market. Kalshi called the criminal charges an overreach; the case at this stage consists of allegations only, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted in court.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 盐湖城市政厅。 / Salt Lake City Hall in Utah.
