Is Kalshi legal? › New Jersey

Is Kalshi legal in New Jersey?

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 New Jersey, including sports. A federal preliminary injunction (2025-04-28) bars New Jersey from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi's sports contracts; the Third Circuit affirmed on 2026-04-06, and New Jersey petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on 2026-09-02 (No. 26-299).

What the status rests on

• CBS Sports reports Kalshi's sports markets are fully operational in New Jersey (it also says they were briefly banned earlier in 2026, which could not be verified). Are sports prediction markets legal? Status of Kalshi and Polymarket in all 50 states (news), September 24, 2026
• New Jersey's Attorney General states that in April 2026 the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 for Kalshi, holding New Jersey's gambling laws preempted, and that the state is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review that ruling. AG Davenport: SCOTUS Must Resolve States' Authority To Regulate Sports Gambling on Prediction Markets, September 2, 2026
• The federal district court docket shows the 2025-04-28 preliminary injunction barring New Jersey enforcement against Kalshi's sports contracts, the Third Circuit mandate of 2026-04-28, and no later order staying or dissolving the injunction (latest entry 2026-06-16). KalshiEX, LLC v. Flaherty, No. 1:25-cv-02152 (D.N.J.), CourtListener docket, June 16, 2026

What has happened in New Jersey

Good to know

• No New Jersey enforcement action against Polymarket was found; the NJ Attorney General releases reviewed (2026-05-01 and 2026-09-02) mention Polymarket only as an example platform. Attorney General Davenport Leads AGs In Urging CFTC to Recognize State Authority Over Sports-Related Prediction Markets
• New Jersey's Attorney General co-led a 41-attorney-general comment letter urging the CFTC to recognize state authority over sports-related prediction markets. Attorney General Davenport Leads AGs In Urging CFTC to Recognize State Authority Over Sports-Related Prediction Markets
• Senate Bill S3692 (Sen. Shirley K. Turner), reported 2026-02-27, would ban election, death and catastrophe markets and let sports markets operate only if licensed or partnered with a licensed New Jersey sportsbook; no evidence of enactment was found. New Jersey Senator Seeks to Heavily Regulate Prediction Markets (news)
• Senate Bill S4447 (Sen. Nicholas Scutari), referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, would tax prediction markets at the 19.75% sportsbook rate plus a 10% surcharge and ban political, death and disaster markets; no evidence of enactment was found as of 2026-09-25. New Jersey Bill Targets Prediction Markets With New Taxes, Restrictions (news)
• New Jersey's petition argues there is a circuit split with the Ninth Circuit's 2026-08-28 ruling that Nevada may enforce its gambling laws against Kalshi's sports contracts. New Jersey petitions Supreme Court to block Kalshi from sidestepping state gambling laws (news)

State regulator: New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (Office of the Attorney General). Sent the 2025-03-27 cease-and-desist to Kalshi; its director is the lead named party in the Kalshi litigation (Flaherty v. KalshiEX).

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: medium. Kalshi status is backed by court records and a 2026-09-02 NJ Attorney General release, but Polymarket US availability rests on one national news statement and the CBS briefly-banned remark is unexplained. Researched September 25, 2026; court cases can change the status at any time, so check Kalshi's app before you trade.

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