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 Illinois, and its sports contracts are available, according to CBS Sports (September 24, 2026). 9 state actions involving Kalshi and 3 involving Polymarket are listed below with their sources. This is a dated summary of public sources, not legal advice.
Status at a glance
Service
Illinois
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 Illinois, including sports, under standstill agreements while a federal court considers injunction motions (KalshiEX v. Raoul; CFTC v. Illinois). The Gaming Board sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi (2025-04-01) and Polymarket US (2026-01-27), and SB 3019 (effective 2026-07-01) requires a state license for sports event contracts.
House Bill 5811 (Rep. Travis Weaver) would remove the prediction-market tax and the 'exchange wager' definition; its sponsor expected it to be taken up in the veto session or in the session starting January 13, 2027. Illinois: Bill seeks to remove prediction market tax (CDC Gaming Reports) (news)
SB 4168 (Prediction Markets Regulation), introduced 2026-03-05, stayed in committee; a third-party bill tracker lists it as dead as of 2026-06-01, and the official ilga.gov site could not be reached to confirm. IL SB4168 (BillTrack50, third-party bill tracker) (news)
In the CFTC's Illinois case, the Coalition for Fair Markets and North American Derivatives Exchange (OG) joined as intervenors and tribal amici filed a brief on 2026-07-31; the docket shows no ruling on the injunction motions as of 2026-09-10, and no tribal lawsuit against Kalshi or Polymarket in Illinois was found. United States of America v. State of Illinois, No. 1:26-cv-03659 (N.D. Ill.), docket (CourtListener)
State regulator: Illinois Gaming Board. Regulates sports wagering in Illinois and sent the cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi (2025-04-01) and Polymarket US (2026-01-27).
The federal picture
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:
September 25, 2026: Pending appellate decisions that could change several states' status: Sixth Circuit (Kalshi v. Ohio, No. 26-3196, and Kalshi v. Tennessee, No. 26-5235; argued 2026-07-30), Fourth Circuit (Kalshi v. Maryland, No. 25-1892; argued 2026-05-07), Second Circuit (Kalshi's New York and Connecticut appeals, Nos. 26-1835 and 26-2239, heard in tandem), Seventh Circuit (CFTC and Kalshi appeals from the Wisconsin injunction denial, No. 26-2636 et al.), Tenth Circuit (Kalshi v. Utah, No. 26-4100). No decision in any of these appeared in the court records checked for this file (CourtListener; indexes can lag PACER by a few days). CourtListener dockets cited in the Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Utah entries
September 16, 2026: Ninth Circuit (Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc., No. 25-7504; Murguia, McKeown, Paez; opinion by Judge McKeown) affirmed in part and reversed in part the denial of two California tribes' preliminary-injunction motion, holding the tribes likely to succeed in showing Kalshi's sports event contracts entered from tribal lands are class III gaming offered in violation of IGRA and their gaming procedures; the case was remanded for the remaining injunction factors, so no injunction had issued as of the last docket entry checked. Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, Inc., No. 25-7504 (9th Cir. Sept. 16, 2026) - published opinion (PDF)
September 2, 2026: New Jersey petitioned the US Supreme Court for certiorari in Flaherty v. KalshiEX, LLC (No. 26-299, docketed 2026-09-08); Kalshi's response deadline was extended to 2026-11-09; an amicus brief was filed 2026-09-22 by the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States. Supreme Court docket No. 26-299
August 28, 2026: Ninth Circuit (KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516; opinion by Judge R. Nelson, with Judges Bade and Lee; Lee concurring) affirmed in part the District of Nevada's order dissolving Kalshi's preliminary injunction, holding the CEA likely does not preempt Nevada gaming law as applied to Kalshi's sports event contracts (which it described as sports bets, not 'swaps'), and remanded for the district court to consider Nevada's challenges to Kalshi's election contracts. Nevada's regulator described the ruling as a 3-0 decision also covering Crypto.com and Robinhood. KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516 (9th Cir. Aug. 28, 2026) - published opinion (PDF)
How sure is this page? Confidence: medium. Kalshi's status is backed by court filings (no enforcement while its motion is pending, no ruling as of 2026-09-10) and a 2026-09-24 news roundup, but Polymarket US access rests on indirect evidence and a ruling could change both quickly. Researched September 25, 2026; court cases can change the status at any time, so check Kalshi's app before you trade.
As of September 25, 2026, Kalshi is available in Illinois, and its sports contracts are available, according to CBS Sports (September 24, 2026). 9 state actions involving Kalshi and 3 involving Polymarket are listed below with their sources. This is a dated summary of public sources, not legal advice.
Can I trade sports contracts on Kalshi in Illinois?
Kalshi's sports contracts are available in Illinois 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.
Is Kalshi regulated?
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.