Kalshi‘s tough run of U.S. court rulings continued Tuesday as the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied its request to prevent Utah from enforcing gambling laws while the operator appeals a District Court loss.
In a two-paragraph response to Kalshi’s ask, the Tenth Circuit ruling indicates that the prediction markets operator meets none of the four factors needed to justify its motion for an emergency appeal pending an injunction.
“Kalshi has not shown these factors weigh in its favor. Accordingly, we deny its motion,” the judges wrote.
The operator lost similar appeals pending injunction in the Second Circuit, which oversees states including Kalshi antagonists New York and Connecticut, and the Sixth Circuit, which handles Ohio and others.
What comes next for Kalshi in Utah?
The denial allows the state of Utah to enforce its firm anti-gambling laws against Kalshi for now.
In August, District Court Judge Robert Shelby declined Kalshi’s request for an injunction and took the additional step of granting summary judgment to the state as well.
” … Kalshi concedes gambling is a field that has been ‘traditionally regulated by the states,’ not the federal government,” Shelby wrote. “The Supreme Court has stated that it is ‘quite sure the Government has a substantial interest in supporting the policy of [non-gambling] States, as well as not interfering with the policy of States that permit [gambling].’
“Congress has attempted to support States in these efforts ‘since the early 19th century.’ It is simply implausible that Congress would silently reverse course through an Act addressing the 2008 housing financial crisis.”
Utah’s anti-gambling history in focus
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox fired a booming salvo earlier this year that escalated the fight between his state and prediction markets when he quote-tweeted Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig. Such an uncommon display of a state’s chief executive publicly battling a federal regulator over gambling highlights the unprecedented nature of the U.S. prediction markets saga:
Utah is the country’s most gambling-averse state, at least legislatively. The state’s deeply rooted history with the Mormon church informs its conservative view on gambling and no form of commercial offering exists in Utah.
Prediction markets, however, added another layer. State legislators took up Cox’s charge this year, passing legislation that clearly targeted Kalshi, Polymarket and others. HB 243 went into effect in May 2026.
