On December 22, a group of 39 U.S. attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the state of Maryland, one of the original colonies, in a case against Kalshi, drawing comparisons between gambling on the ships that carried British settlers to the United States and gambling prohibitions in the colonies.
The attorneys general describe the history of state-regulated gambling, including Puritans and Quakers outlawing it in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in the 1600s and legislators in New Hampshire, New Jersey, and the Northwest Territories outlawing it in the 1700s. They write that sailors gambled to pass the time during the up to ten-week journey between Britain and America. Before Nevada defied the trend and legalized “wide-open” gambling in 1931, prohibitions proliferated throughout the 1800s.
A battle over gambling is energizing conventional sports betting companies and uniting stakeholders who weren’t always in agreement nearly a century later. The Tribal Amici, the American Gaming Association (AGA), and the group of attorneys general submitted friend-of-the-court briefs supporting the state of Maryland in the case against Kalshi within a day.
After the state sent a cease-and-desist letter that would have prevented Kalshi from proposing contracts for sporting events in the state, Kalshi filed a lawsuit against the state in April. In August, a district court judge rejected a request for an injunction that would have let Kalshi to carry on with business as usual. However, the company appealed to the Fourth Circuit, where both sides agreed that Kalshi could carry on with business as usual until the matter was settled.
ALSO READ: How Texas officials fired two employees for sports gambling.
Again, Texas is absent
Almost immediately after the initial entry on the Fourth Circuit docket was filed on December 22, amicus papers began to pour in. Similar briefs were filed at the district court level by the Tribal Amici, a group of over 25 American tribes and tribal organizations.
The amicus brief was signed by the attorneys general of the five largest gaming states and the largest state in the United States. For the first time, a group of AGs has come together to speak in court. A group of fifty attorneys general demanded a crackdown on offshore betting in a letter to the Department of Justice in August. Neither the letter nor the amicus brief were signed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel signed the brief, which was led by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. Although there is no legal sports betting in California, the state took many steps to safeguard gaming in 2025. The legislature approved a legislation prohibiting sweepstakes platforms starting on January 1, 2026, and Bonta’s office issued an opinion stating that daily fantasy sports are prohibited. The five largest legal online sports betting markets in the United States are New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan.
Politicians and regulators in Ohio and Nevada have expressed strong opinions regarding the future of prediction markets in respective states. Regulators in Nevada have taken a strong stance against prediction markets, warning gambling license holders that using or providing prediction markets might result in fines or even license suspension. Under pressure from state authorities, DraftKings withdrew its application and FanDuel revoked its Nevada license in November. Additionally, a federal judge overturned an earlier decision that would have permitted Kalshi to function and decided that Crypto.com could not provide contracts for sporting events in the state.
Courtesy:Â https://www.covers.com, https://www.casino.org, https://pechanga.net
