KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- After Utah filed felony charges against Kalshi this week, at least four major gaming operators that offer prediction markets are pulling sports and political contracts out of the state.
- DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and PrizePicks all confirmed changes to their status in Utah after the state turned up the heat in court.
- Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, whose campaign received donations from gambling companies in the past, wants Kalshi to be charged with 14 counts of criminal activity.
Utah’s felony charges against Kalshi spooked sports betting operators just before Halloween.
The anti-gambling state brought a total of 14 criminal charges against Kalshi in state court this week, 13 of which are felony counts. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown accused the company of flagrantly offering sports betting and other gambling products in the state, the constitution of which expressly prohibits the state legislature from authorizing “any game of chance, lottery or gift enterprise under any pretense or for any purpose.”
Brown said in a recent press conference that while the state is focusing on Kalshi, other operators should take notice.
“For other companies that are operating here in Utah, I would ask two things,” he said. “Number one, read this complaint, and number two, we’re simply asking you to follow the law, follow Utah law. Gambling has been illegal in Utah since statehood.”
Which gaming operators are ending sports in Utah?
Several gaming operators that now offer event contracts began offering prediction markets in Utah in the last year or so. Now, many of them are making a hasty retreat.
SBC Americas received confirmation from at least four operators that have adjusted their approach in Utah in recent days:
- DraftKings
- Fanatics
- FanDuel
- PrizePicks
DraftKings led the shift, confirming that as of Thursday afternoon, DraftKings Predictions no longer offered sports, political, novelty, “and certain other” event contracts to customers physically located in Utah.
DraftKings, FanDuel shut down markets including sports and politics
“Customers are still able to trade financial event contracts, including those related to stocks, commodities, and cryptocurrency,” said the company in an emailed statement. “Any open positions customers hold in the affected markets will remain open and settle as normal. DraftKings remains committed to operating responsibly and transparently.”
FanDuel made a similar change effective Friday morning.
“Event contracts on sports, politics and novelties are no longer available to customers in Utah through FanDuel Predicts,” a FanDuel spokesperson told SBC Americas by email. “Customers will still be able to trade on economic benchmarks and key financial indicators. Any positions held by customers will remain open and settle as expected.”
The state’s enforcement action against Kalshi has focused primarily on sports and politics contracts, although its state court petition for a preliminary injunction asked a judge to also block Kalshi’s markets on culture and ‘mention markets’.
Fanatics, PrizePicks abandon Utah PMs entirely
Other gaming and prediction market operators are shutting off the event contract faucet in Utah entirely amid the state’s attempt to criminalize the products.
Fanatics Markets still lists Utah as a region of availability for their prediction markets as of Friday, but a spokesperson told SBC Americas that, “due to recent developments, we are stopping trade placement on Fanatics Markets in the state of Utah on Nov. 4.”
A PrizePicks help page last updated on Wednesday shows that only its daily fantasy sports-style Player Picks are available in that state, and a spokesperson confirmed that it “turned off” its Team Picks and Culture Picks there. Team Picks are prediction markets on sports games, leagues, teams, and season-long outcomes, and Culture Picks encompass contracts on categories including politics, entertainment, pop culture, and more.
Whether others follow remains to be seen. Underdog still listed Utah as a region of availability for its prediction markets as of Friday, and the company did not respond to an inquiry.
What happened with Utah prediction markets in October 2026?
The situation in Utah has escalated hugely in the last fortnight, taking states’ battle with the prediction markets industry to new ground.
The war started in earnest when Kalshi sued Utah officials in February, arguing that the Commodity Exchange Act supersedes the state’s authority and means it cannot enforce its constitutional ban against the company’s products. In August, a federal judge rejected that argument. Kalshi appealed that ruling but the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals denied its emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal in September.
That set the table for what has happened in the last 11 days or so:
- Brown sued Kalshi in state court on Oct. 20, also targeting affiliated entities and Susquehanna trading firms
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice responded by suing the state on Monday to block the state’s gambling enforcement against prediction markets
- Crypto.com and its affiliated OG.com platform also sued Utah on the same day
- Utah then escalated the issue by filing 13 felony charges and one misdemeanor count against Kalshi and its co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara on Wednesday.
Those felony charges are perhaps the most forceful blow struck by a state against the prediction markets industry to date.
Brown previously accepted donations from PM operators
Meanwhile, reports this week noted that while Brown dropped the hammer on Kalshi this week for offering products he says are tantamount to illegal gambling, the Attorney General’s campaign received donations in 2025 and 2026 from several gambling operators that offer prediction markets.
The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Brown received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from companies with a stake in betting, including:
- $5,000 from DraftKings in 2025
- $5,000 from PrizePicks in 2025
- $10,000 from Underdog SVP of Government Affairs and Partnerships Stacie Stern in January 2026
