Is Kalshi legal? › Hawaii
Status as of September 25, 2026 · every line has its source and date · not legal advice
As of September 25, 2026, Kalshi is available in Hawaii, and its sports contracts are available, according to CBS Sports (September 24, 2026). 10 state actions involving Kalshi are listed below with their sources. This is a dated summary of public sources, not legal advice.
| Service | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Kalshi (CFTC-regulated exchange) | Available |
| Kalshi sports contracts | Available |
| Polymarket US (for comparison) | Reported available |
| polymarket.com (international site) | No new trades for US users |
Kalshi and Polymarket US are reported live in Hawaii, including sports, even though sports betting is not legal there. No enforcement action was found. A 2026 House bill (HB 2198) to treat trading on sports and other event contracts as gambling cleared two House committees, but one amendment set a placeholder effective date of July 1, 3000, no Senate version appears in the Legislature's files, and its final status could not be verified. The Attorney General has joined six multistate amicus briefs in Kalshi cases and the 41-attorney-general comment letter to the CFTC, opposing Kalshi's position that federal law overrides state gambling laws.
| Date | Company | Event and source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-11 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by Nevada and Utah, supporting Ohio in Kalshi's Sixth Circuit appeal from the denial of a preliminary injunction (KalshiEX LLC v. Schuler, No. 26-3196). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae Nevada, Utah, 37 Other States, and the District of Columbia Supporting Defendants-Appellees, KalshiEX LLC v. Schuler, No. 26-3196 (6th Cir.), Doc. 57 |
| 2026-05-26 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by Nevada and Utah, supporting Tennessee's officials in their Sixth Circuit appeal from a preliminary injunction that bars Tennessee from enforcing its sports-wagering laws against Kalshi (KalshiEX LLC v. Orgel, No. 26-5235). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae Nevada, Utah, 39 Other States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Supporting Appellants, KalshiEX LLC v. Orgel, No. 26-5235 (6th Cir.), Doc. 42 |
| 2026-04-30 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General signed the comment letter of 41 attorneys general (lead signers Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Utah) urging the CFTC to confirm it lacks jurisdiction over sports-related event contracts; the letter cites Kalshi's sports markets as an example. This was a comment letter, not an enforcement action. Comment letter of Ohio, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Utah, 34 other States and the District of Columbia to the CFTC on prediction markets, Docket No. 2026-05105 (PDF via the New Jersey Attorney General) |
| 2026-04-24 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by Nevada and Ohio, supporting Massachusetts in Kalshi's appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court from the state-court injunction against its sports event contracts (Commonwealth v. KalshiEX LLC, No. SJC-13906). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae of Nevada, Ohio, 35 Other States, and the District of Columbia Supporting Appellee, Commonwealth v. KalshiEX LLC, No. SJC-13906 (Mass.) (PDF hosted by the New York Attorney General) |
| 2026-03-03 | Kalshi | The House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee heard H.D. 1 (testimony dated 2026-03-03) and reported it as H.D. 2 in Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1108-26 with technical amendments, recommending that it pass Third Reading. Hawaii House Standing Committee Report No. 1108-26 on H.B. No. 2198, H.D. 2 (Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs) |
| 2026-02-05 | Kalshi | The House Consumer Protection & Commerce Committee heard HB 2198 (testimony dated 2026-02-05) and reported it as H.D. 1 in Stand. Com. Rep. No. 264-26, adding legislation and national security to the covered categories and changing the effective date to July 1, 3000 'to encourage further discussion'. Hawaii House Standing Committee Report No. 264-26 on H.B. No. 2198, H.D. 1 (Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce) |
| 2026-01-30 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by New Jersey and Ohio, supporting Nevada's gaming regulators in Kalshi's Ninth Circuit appeal after the district court dissolved Kalshi's preliminary injunction (KalshiEX LLC v. Hendrick, No. 25-7516). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae of New Jersey, Ohio, 37 Other States, and the District of Columbia Supporting Appellees, KalshiEX LLC v. Hendrick, No. 25-7516 (9th Cir.), DktEntry 48.1 (PDF hosted by the New Jersey Attorney General) |
| 2026-01 | Kalshi | House Bill 2198 was introduced to add trading in contracts on sports, contests, people, politics, catastrophe and death to Hawaii's statutory definition of gambling, with an effective date of July 1, 2026 (the bill file was posted 2026-01-26; Covers dates the introduction to 2026-01-28). Hawaii H.B. No. 2198 (2026), "Relating to Prediction Markets", as introduced |
| 2025-12-22 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by Nevada and Ohio, supporting Maryland's regulators in Kalshi's Fourth Circuit appeal from the denial of a preliminary injunction (KalshiEX LLC v. Martin, No. 25-1892). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae of Nevada, Ohio, 36 Other States, and the District of Columbia Supporting Appellees, KalshiEX LLC v. Martin, No. 25-1892 (4th Cir.), Doc. 41 |
| 2025-06-17 | Kalshi | Hawaii's Attorney General joined a multistate amicus brief, led by Nevada and Ohio, supporting New Jersey's gaming regulators, who were appealing a preliminary injunction that barred New Jersey from enforcing its gaming laws against Kalshi's sports event contracts, in the Third Circuit (KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty, No. 25-1922). This was an amicus brief, not an enforcement action. Brief of Amici Curiae of Nevada, Ohio, 32 Other States, District of Columbia, and Northern Mariana Islands Supporting Appellants, KalshiEX LLC v. Flaherty, No. 25-1922 (3d Cir.), Doc. 29 |
State regulator: Hawaii Department of the Attorney General (Hawaii has no gaming regulator). Sports betting is not legal in Hawaii and the state has no gaming regulator. A search of the Department's website for 'kalshi' returned no results on 2026-09-25.
Kalshi has been a CFTC-designated contract market since November 4, 2020 (CFTC release 8302-20). Whether states may still apply their gambling laws to sports event contracts is being decided in the courts, and the federal appeals courts do not agree yet:
How sure is this page? Confidence: medium. Availability rests on news roundups (CBS Sports and Covers, 2026-09-24; FOX Sports, 2026-08-06) that agree; the bill's committee history comes from official files, but its final status and any Senate action could not be checked. Researched September 25, 2026; court cases can change the status at any time, so check Kalshi's app before you trade.
Related: every state · is Polymarket legal in Hawaii? (Polymarket View) · Kalshi fee calculator · Kalshi taxes · Kalshi FAQ
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As of September 25, 2026, Kalshi is available in Hawaii, and its sports contracts are available, according to CBS Sports (September 24, 2026). 10 state actions involving Kalshi are listed below with their sources. This is a dated summary of public sources, not legal advice.
Kalshi's sports contracts are available in Hawaii according to the sources on this page as of September 25, 2026. State lawsuits and court orders can change that quickly, so check the dated timeline and Kalshi's app.
Yes, federally: the CFTC designated KalshiEX LLC as a contract market on November 4, 2020. States disagree on whether their gambling laws also reach sports event contracts, and federal courts are split, so availability differs by state.