Utah prosecutors filed 14 criminal counts against Kalshi, CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara, including 13 felonies. The charges allege that an undercover investigator placed 12 sports bets from Utah and that Kalshi collected fees of 3 to 78 cents on each trade, which prosecutors call proceeds of illegal gambling. Kalshi rejected the charges.
The filing came two days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Justice Department sued Utah to block enforcement against prediction markets, arguing that federal law gives the CFTC exclusive authority over event contracts on regulated exchanges. A federal judge had ruled that Utah’s gambling laws apply to Kalshi’s sports contracts, and an appeals court declined to block enforcement.
