The ongoing legal battle over prediction markets and their ability to operate across the United States has taken another turn, with another state taking measures against sports contracts.
Key Takeaways
- Missouri AG Catherine Hanaway is ordering six prediction markets to halt sports event contracts in the state.
- Catherine Hanaway said Kalshi, Polymarket, Novig, Crypto.com, Underdog, and Robinhood are not licensed to offer sports wagering.
- Hanaway said legal action could follow if the companies do not reach an agreement with the state.
Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway announced her office ordered six prediction market operators to suspend their sports event contracts.
“Polymarket, Kalshi, Novig, Crypto.com, Underdog, and Robinhood are not licensed to offer sports wagering in Missouri. Until they are licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission, we are demanding they cease and desist from offering sports contracts to Missourians,” Hanaway states. “Voters chose a safe, well‑regulated market that supports public education and addresses problem gambling, and we will enforce it.”
Companies cannot repackage sports bets as ‘event contracts’ to evade Missouri law.
— Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway (@AGCHanaway) September 18, 2026
Polymarket, Kalshi, Novig, Crypto.com, Underdog, and Robinhood are not licensed to offer sports wagering in Missouri. Until they are licensed by the Missouri Gaming Commission, we are demanding… pic.twitter.com/KqeH1rGjJn
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account
States push back
The decision comes amid continued legal battles across numerous U.S. states over the legality of sports event contracts offered by prediction markets.
New York recently moved to bar Kalshi’s sports prediction markets with a lawsuit in July, while Connecticut made prediction market news when it did the same a month later.
“The way that they take contracts, as what they would call them, I call them bets online on sporting events, is just like how FanDuel and others do it,” Hanaway said, according to KFVS12. “Even though their fee structure might be a little bit different, it still fits four square the definition of gambling in Missouri.”
While Hanaway said her office has seen settlements between prediction market sites and various states across the country, she has not ruled out a lawsuit if no deal is reached.
“Chances are they may sue us once they get this cease-and-desist letter, because these companies argue that they are regulated at the federal level as a commodity, like the corn and bean futures or farmers’ trade, that they have the same regulatory entity, and we say not quite like that,” Hanaway said.
Since March, state regulators have intensified enforcement against the growth of prediction markets. Arizona became the first state to file criminal charges against Kalshi over event contracts, setting off regulatory and legal challenges across more than 20 states.
