Prediction market Kalshi can now be banned from offering sports contracts in Nevada after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the state’s Gaming Control Board on Tuesday.

The one-page ruling backed the November decision of a federal judge, who ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports contracts in the state. The ruling was appealed, and Kalshi was still available to Nevada customers, including a week ago during the Super Bowl. Nevada saw its lowest wagering total on the game in 10 years, and some analysts speculated that prediction markets took away some of the business.

The control board filed its first cease-and-desist order against Kalshi last March. 

Since that time, gaming regulators in more than 20 states have filed legal challenges against Kalshi and other prediction market companies that have temporarily blocked the businesses from offering sports contracts — the term used to describe wagers. The states allege that prediction market companies effectively operate casino or gambling operations in violation of state gambling laws.

Following the 9th Circuit’s ruling, the control board filed a civil enforcement action Tuesday with the Carson City District Court to block Kalshi from the state. Kalshi, the board said, is the only prediction market currently operating unlicensed wagering in Nevada.  

“Its continued operation harms the state and the public every day and poses an existential threat to the state’s gaming industry,” Jessica Whalen, chief deputy solicitor general for the attorney general’s office, wrote in the filing. “Kalshi has continued to dramatically expand its business, rather than attempting to maintain any kind of status quo.”

In a statement, control board Chairman Mike Dreitzer said the agency “continues to vigorously fulfill its obligation to safeguard Nevada residents and gaming patrons, and uphold the integrity of a thriving gaming industry.”

The board’s 9th Circuit arguments were backed by the Nevada Resort Association, which told the court that Kalshi’s sports prediction markets have “increased exponentially” to include multievent, multispot parlay wagers. 

Resort Association officials declined to comment.

A Kalshi spokeswoman also declined to comment on the ruling.

Representatives of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates prediction markets, have said the federal oversight allows Kalshi and other companies to operate in all 50 states, even those where gambling is illegal. 

The Kalshi ruling came on the same day the Trump administration threw its support behind prediction companies in the legal battles between the industry and states wishing to ban the platforms. The CFTC backed Kalshi in the 9th Circuit through a “friend of the court” brief.

Any friendly decision the CFTC makes on this industry could end up financially benefiting the president’s family as well. President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has invested in Polymarket through his venture capital firm and is a strategic adviser for Kalshi.

The move by Michael Selig, the recently appointed chairman of the CFTC, could have enormous implications for how sports betting is regulated in the country. If Kalshi were to prevail, the action could erode the ability for states to effectively regulate gambling.

Florida-based gaming attorney Daniel Wallach, who has been following the prediction market legal proceedings since last year, wrote on the social media platform X that Kalshi’s next step could be asking the U.S. Supreme Court for an administrative order, allowing the company to continue operating in Nevada until the case is ultimately decided.

While customers can bet on anything, roughly 90 percent of Kalshi’s trading volume goes toward wagers on sports, while roughly half of Polymarket’s trading is tied to sports. Kalshi said it saw more than $1 billion in volume trade on the Super Bowl.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.