Key points
- The New York State Gaming Commission petitioned a Manhattan court on 22 October 2026 to enforce investigative subpoenas on Kalshi.
- The subpoenas were issued on 31 July 2026 with a return date of 14 August 2026.
- The commission says it needs the records to decide whether to seek civil penalties.
- Kalshi says its event contracts fall under federal CFTC oversight, according to RG.
The New York State Gaming Commission has petitioned a Manhattan court to enforce its Kalshi subpoenas, investigative demands for records from the prediction market operator. The petition, received by the court’s electronic filing system on 22 October 2026, says the commission needs the records to examine possible breaches of state gambling law and to decide whether to seek civil penalties.
The Kalshi subpoenas
The commission filed a verified petition in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, naming Kalshi Inc. and KalshiEX LLC as respondents, RG reported. The New York Attorney General’s office represents the commission.
The commission issued the subpoenas on 31 July 2026 under Racing Law Section 104(7), with a return date of 14 August 2026. Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach told RG that they seek records on Kalshi’s sports event contracts, its offerings to New Yorkers under 21, advertising that calls its products wagers or bets, and its ownership and corporate structure.
The petition states that Kalshi has refused the main requests and answered others insufficiently, according to RG. It alleges that Kalshi has run a large New York operation for at least 18 months without the licence the Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law requires for sports wagering. The commission argues that its investigation “will be irreparably harmed” if Kalshi can defy the subpoenas, RG reported.
RG said it could not find a public response from Kalshi to the petition. Kalshi’s position is that its event contracts are financial products regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and fall outside state gambling law.
Earlier fights with New York
The petition follows a year of litigation. According to the Attorney General’s court filing, the commission demanded on 24 October 2025 that Kalshi stop operating an unlicensed mobile sports wagering platform in New York. Kalshi sued the commission in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on 27 October 2025. The federal court denied Kalshi’s motion for a preliminary injunction on 7 July 2026, and Kalshi has appealed.
On 31 July 2026, the same day the subpoenas were issued, Attorney General Letitia James sued Kalshi in state court. That case seeks an order stopping Kalshi from operating as an unlicensed gambling business, forfeiture of gains, restitution to consumers and fines of three times its gains, according to her office. The filing also seeks $100,000 for each unauthorised sports wagering offer under Racing Law Section 1367(16)(a).
“No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple.”
Letitia James, Attorney General of New York, in a statement on 31 July 2026
The CFTC sued New York in the Southern District of New York in April 2026, RG reported. It seeks a declaration that federal law gives it exclusive authority over event contracts and an injunction barring the state from enforcing preempted laws against its registrants. Other states are moving on the sector too: see the Ohio licensee deadline of 30 October and the Cruz prediction markets bill, which would require state approval. More Kalshi coverage is on EpicWins.
Next steps
RG reported no ruling on the petition. The court must decide whether to compel Kalshi to comply. If it does, the commission will review the records before deciding whether to pursue civil penalties and in what amounts. The state proceeding runs separately from the CFTC’s federal case and from Kalshi’s appeal of the July preliminary injunction ruling.
