Kalshi has asked the full Sixth Circuit to rehear a ruling that lets Ohio and Tennessee apply their gaming laws to the prediction-market operator. The petition was filed on 9 October. The company argues that event contracts traded on designated exchanges sit with the CFTC, not with the states.
The 25 September decision came from a three-judge panel. It declined to treat Kalshi's sports contracts as swaps under federal commodities law. Even had it done so, that would not have displaced state gaming laws, the ruling says. The panel upheld the denial of an injunction in Ohio and lifted a stay that had blocked Tennessee's regulator. Both states can keep pressing while the case runs. State action came first: Ohio's Casino Control Commission banned Kalshi sports contracts in March 2025, and the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council filed a similar request in January 2026.
CFTC position
On 9 October the CFTC proposed a rule that would bring event contracts on sports, politics, cultural events and weather inside the federal definition of swaps. Comment runs 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The agency also issued an interim final rule keeping casino gambling and sportsbook bets outside that definition; it takes effect on publication. Kalshi cites both moves and says exchange-listed event contracts are legally distinct from bookmaker bets.
The dispute is not confined to the Sixth Circuit. The Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi in a New Jersey case, while the Ninth sided with Nevada regulators. Kalshi is separately asking the full Ninth Circuit to revisit that loss. New Jersey authorities have gone to the Supreme Court, and the NFL filed there on 8 October, arguing that sports betting integrity is better handled by state regulators. Kalshi must answer New Jersey's petition by 9 November.
The full Sixth Circuit now decides whether to rehear the case. A refusal leaves the panel ruling standing; a grant returns the parties to argument. The core question is unchanged: whether the contracts fall under federal swaps regulation, and what that means for enforcement at state level. For operators and arbitrageurs, the split across circuits keeps US licensing requirements and GEO restrictions unstable.
