Utah files criminal gambling charges against Kalshi and its two co-founders

The Utah Attorney General's Office filed criminal charges Wednesday in state court in Salt Lake City against prediction market Kalshi and its co-founders, CEO Tarek Mansour and COO Luana Lopes Lara. The counts are one second-degree felony of pattern of unlawful activity, 12 third-degree felonies of online gambling promotion and one class A misdemeanor of gambling promotion. ^[1][2]

Charging documents say state investigator Scott Eggerman opened a Kalshi account on Sept. 13 under an undercover name and placed about a dozen bets over 11 days on NFL and MLB games, the Utah-Utah State football game and a Real Salt Lake match. Kalshi took fees of 3 to 78 cents per transaction, the charges say. ^[1]

"Gambling is illegal in Utah, whether you place the bet, run the game, or promote it," Attorney General Derek Brown said. A Kalshi spokesperson called the case "a crazy overreach" and said "Utah is clearly playing politics," adding that the company expects to stop it in court as it did in Arizona. ^[1][2]

The charges follow the civil suit Utah filed against Kalshi in the same court on Oct. 20. A federal judge earlier ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act does not keep Utah from enforcing its gambling laws, and in September the 10th Circuit declined to pause that enforcement while Kalshi appeals. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has since sued Utah, arguing federal law governs prediction markets. ^[1][2]