Tennessee going to court against Kalshi sports betting

NASHVILLE (WDEF) – The Tennessee Attorney General is asking an appeals court to overturn a ruling on sports wegering.

The original ruling blocked Tennessee from enforcing laws against KalshiEX.

Attorney General Jonathan Skremetti says Kalshi is an online platform that sells contracts tied to betting outcomes.

The company refuses to get licensed by the state calling their products “swaps.”

They say those “swaps” can only be regulated by federal authorities.

But Skrmetti says the law they are siting was meant to deal with large banks during the 2008 financial crisis, not sports betting.

“Kalshi can call their bets ‘swaps’ all they want, but everyone who so much as glances at the platform understands that this is sports gambling,” said Attorney General Skrmetti. “Tennessee has laws governing wagering on sports—laws that Kalshi is desperately trying to avoid—that ensure sportsbooks provide protections for problem gamblers, pay taxes to support our education system, and provide a fair and transparent service to users. We’re going to keep fighting to protect Tennesseans from operators who want all the benefits of this market and none of the accountability.”

The case now goes before the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court in Cincinnati.