Is Kalshi legal? › Missouri

Is Kalshi legal in Missouri?

Status as of September 25, 2026 · every line has its source and date · not legal advice

Status at a glance

Kalshi and Polymarket US are reported live in Missouri, including sports, but the Attorney General sent both cease-and-desist letters dated 2026-09-16 with a 30-day response window (about 2026-10-16) and said failure to comply will result in enforcement action.

What the status rests on

• CBS Sports lists Missouri as 'Live' and says sports prediction markets are available through Kalshi and Polymarket in the state. Are sports prediction markets legal? Status of Kalshi and Polymarket in all 50 states (CBS Sports) (news), September 24, 2026
• Missouri's Attorney General wrote that Kalshi offers sports wagering to people located in Missouri without a Missouri Gaming Commission license, and that Kalshi has been, and continues to be, in violation of Missouri law. Missouri Attorney General letter to KalshiEX LLC: Unlicensed Sport Wagering Operations in Missouri, September 16, 2026

What has happened in Missouri

Good to know

• Legal sports wagering launched in Missouri at 12:00 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2025, after voters approved Amendment 2 on Nov. 5, 2024; patrons must be at least 21 and physically in Missouri to place a wager. Missouri Gaming Commission Announces Official Launch of Sports Wagering
• The Attorney General's letter says Missouri bars sports wagering by anyone under 21, while Kalshi's Member Agreement allows anyone who has reached the age of majority, which is 18 in Missouri. Missouri Attorney General letter to KalshiEX LLC: Unlicensed Sport Wagering Operations in Missouri
• The Attorney General's letter says Polymarket's US Rulebook allows users aged 18 and older, while Missouri bars sports wagering by anyone under 21. Missouri Attorney General letter to QCX Limited Liability Company (Polymarket): Unlicensed Sport Wagering Operations in Missouri
• The letters ask for a response within 30 days of their Sept. 16, 2026 date, which is about Oct. 16, 2026, and say Missouri will take legal action if the companies neither comply nor stop. Missouri Attorney General letter to KalshiEX LLC: Unlicensed Sport Wagering Operations in Missouri
• No lawsuit by Missouri against Kalshi or Polymarket was found as of 2026-09-25; the check covered the Attorney General's press-release index and its uploaded documents. Missouri Attorney General - Press Releases
• The letters say Missouri 'remains open to possible legislative reforms in the future', and no 2026 Missouri House bill title mentions prediction markets or event contracts; bill texts and Senate bills were not searched. Missouri House of Representatives - Bill List, 2026 Regular Session
• Fox Sports' state table lists Missouri's prediction-market status as 'Available.' Where Are Prediction Markets Legal? State-by-State Availability in 2026 (FOX Sports) (news)

State regulator: Missouri Gaming Commission. Licenses and regulates sports wagering, which launched Dec. 1, 2025; the September 2026 cease-and-desist letters came from the Missouri Attorney General, not the Commission.

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 9, 2026: Kalshi petitioned for panel rehearing and rehearing en banc of the Ninth Circuit's 2026-08-28 Nevada decision (KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516); Montana's 2026-09-17 enforcement pause is tied to the outcome of that request. KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516 (9th Cir.) docket, entry 206 (CourtListener); Joint Stipulation of Dismissal, KalshiEX LLC v. Knudsen (D. Mont.), Doc. 35
• 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: high. The Missouri Attorney General's own Sept. 16-18, 2026 letters and release, plus a Sept. 24, 2026 CBS Sports roundup, confirm current availability and the only state action, though the status could change after the 30-day response window. 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 Missouri? (Polymarket View) · Kalshi fee calculator · Kalshi taxes · Kalshi FAQ

Other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois · Ohio · Georgia · North Carolina · Michigan · New Jersey · Virginia · Washington · Arizona · Massachusetts · Tennessee · Indiana · Maryland · Wisconsin · Colorado · Minnesota · Nevada · Connecticut · Montana · Louisiana · Kentucky · Oregon · Oklahoma · Utah

Frequently asked questions