Louisiana sues Kalshi, Robinhood and eight other prediction markets; judge grants temporary restraining order, WBRZ reports

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on Thursday, November 12, 2026, that she has sued ten prediction market platforms, including Kalshi, Robinhood, Polymarket and Coinbase, alleging that they are breaking the state's laws. She asked a court for an immediate restraining order and an injunction, The Block reported, citing her post on X. Later on Thursday a Louisiana judge granted a temporary restraining order that prohibits Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, Robinhood and several other operators from continuing what the state calls illegal online gambling in Louisiana, WBRZ reported. We have not read the order.

What Louisiana alleges

"For too long, they have violated our laws with impunity," Murrill said in the post, as quoted by The Block. "No longer: I am seeking an immediate restraining order and an injunction to restore the rule of law in Louisiana."

We did not read the complaint. It was filed in the 21st Judicial District Court in Tangipahoa Parish, according to WBRZ and Covers, and it asks for civil penalties as well as an injunction, WBRZ reported, citing court documents. None of the reports we read names the specific laws it cites. The court documents list more legal entities than the ten platform names, according to WBRZ. States that have brought similar cases have generally objected to contracts on sports events, arguing that the platforms offer sports betting without a state license and without paying state taxes, according to The Block. Louisiana's lawsuit also covers contracts on political, election and awards events, according to Covers and WBRZ. Those are allegations. The restraining order WBRZ reported is temporary, and no court has decided whether the platforms broke Louisiana law.

A prediction market lets users buy and sell contracts that pay out depending on whether an event happens. The platforms say the contracts are derivatives that fall under federal law.

How the companies responded

Kalshi, which sued Murrill and other Louisiana officials in October, according to KPLC, filed for an emergency temporary restraining order in federal court on Thursday, Covers reported, saying that after discussions with state representatives it believed Louisiana would "initiate an action against Kalshi in state court to restrict Kalshi from operating in Louisiana," The Block reported, quoting the filing.

A Robinhood spokesperson told The Block that its event contracts "are federally regulated by the CFTC and offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a CFTC-registered entity." A Coinbase spokesperson called the lawsuit "another example of the fragmented enforcement Congress sought to prevent when it gave the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts."

The Coalition for Prediction Markets, an industry group that represents several of the companies, called the lawsuit "troubling and unlawful," according to The Block. The Block's report does not include responses from the other companies named. These statements respond to the lawsuit; WBRZ's report of the restraining order carries no company statements.

The wider dispute

The question in all of these cases is who regulates event contracts: the states, under their gambling laws, or the CFTC, under federal commodities law. The CFTC has sued states to assert exclusive jurisdiction, The Block reported, and several federal appeals courts are considering the issue, according to Coinbase's statement. The CFTC has one sitting commissioner, and President Donald Trump nominated two more on November 12.

Courts have not agreed so far. On November 10 a federal judge in New York denied Novig's request to block that state's gambling law, finding that its sports contracts were not swaps, as The Block reported. Separately, Kalshi may face action from its federal regulator: the CFTC warned it of possible charges, according to a report by Politico that Cointelegraph relayed and that we could not confirm. A Kalshi spokesperson told Politico the matter was a procedural error involving a handful of contracts, Cointelegraph reported, and the CFTC had announced no charges when we checked on November 11.

What it could mean for traders

For users in Louisiana, the immediate questions are how the platforms respond to the temporary restraining order that WBRZ reported and whether the court replaces it with an injunction that lasts while the case goes on. The reports we read do not give a hearing date. In our assessment, the larger effect is cumulative: with more than ten states in court by the outlets' counts, the availability of these markets increasingly depends on where a user lives, and that is likely to stay unsettled until an appeals court or the Supreme Court decides who has authority.