Utah Files 14 Criminal Counts Against Prediction Market Kalshi
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — The state Attorney General's Office disclosed October 30 that it has filed criminal charges against prediction market operator Kalshi and its two co-founders, alleging violations of Utah's gambling ban. The case is before the Third District Court in Salt Lake County.
The complaint lists 14 counts: one second-degree felony count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, 12 third-degree felony counts of online gambling promotion, and one misdemeanor count of general gambling promotion. The defendants include Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara.
Prosecutors say an attorney general's investigator opened a Kalshi account in September using a Utah address, phone number and debit card, and placed 12 sports bets totaling $114.87, losing $25.10 — each bet corresponding to one third-degree felony count. Attorney General Derek Brown said gambling is illegal in Utah whether betting, operating or promoting, and that calling it a prediction market does not change its nature.
Utah previously filed a civil suit on October 20 seeking up to $61.2 million. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Utah to block state enforcement against a federally registered exchange, and that jurisdictional fight is ongoing.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：UtahStateCapitol-Mar2008-a。LoneStarMike 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: UtahStateCapitol-Mar2008-a. By LoneStarMike, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
