If you’ve been reading about prediction markets in the last couple of years, you might know that providers such as Kalshi and Polymarket have faced many lawsuits from various organizations and institutions. In fact, earlier this week, the Alabama-Quassarte Tribe filed a lawsuit against Kalshi over its PokkeTrades partnership.
However, private citizens are also suing Kalshi; one man who lost over $308,000 on the company’s platform filed a lawsuit, claiming the prediction market provider violated Washington State’s ban on online gambling.
Man Sues Kalshi After Losing $308,000
Scott Bright from Bellevue, Washington, argued in a lawsuit filed on September 24 in King County Superior Court that his wagers were placed “at a time when it was unlawful in Washington and when the Washington Attorney General had already sued KalshiEX LLC in this Court alleging precisely that.” Kalshi has since filed a motion seeking to dismiss the case.
The Plaintiff’s side essentially argues that Kalshi’s product constitutes online gambling, which Washington has explicitly banned since2006. The state has long had a law allowing individuals who lose money through illegal gambling to sue the operators responsible and recover their losses, the Plaintiff argues…