Illinois Gaming Board Latest To Send Cease-And-Desist Letters To Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com

The Illinois Gaming Board has now joined the growing number of gaming regulatory agencies that have sent cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com, alleging the exchange trading platforms offering contracts on sporting events are in violation of the state’s sports betting laws.

The letters, all dated April 1, provide the definition of “sports wagering” as stated in Illinois law and point out “No person or entity may engage in a sports wagering operation or activity in Illinois unless licensed by the IGB.” The state agency further specifies, “It is unlawful to knowingly establish, maintain or operate an Internet site that permits a person to make a wager upon the result of any sport, game, contest, political nomination, appointment or election via the Internet without an IGB-issued license.”

The IGB did not specify a date by which Kalshi must “cease and desist this illegal activity.”

The Ohio Casino Control Commission sent similar letters to the three companies Monday, alleging they are in violation of sports betting laws there. Last Friday, Kalshi filed lawsuits against gaming regulatory bodies in Nevada and New Jersey seeking declaratory and injunctive relief after receiving cease-and-desist letters from those state gaming agencies.

Is a U.S.-wide legal battle brewing?

If one were to take Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour’s post to LinkedIn over the weekend and the Nevada and New Jersey filings at face value, the IGB and OCCC will soon be named in similar lawsuits.

But Kalshi’s potential strategies for arguing its legal merits could change following Tuesday’s announced departure of Chief Regulatory Officer and General Counsel Eliezer Mishory to head the DOGE team at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Regardless of who leads Kalshi’s legal counsel, there are specific nuances to be addressed in the alleged violations should Kalshi continue to file lawsuits on a state-by-state basis.

In New Jersey, for example, the Division of Gaming Enforcement alleged Kalshi and Robinhood were in violation of the state constitution that mandates “wagering shall not be permitted on a college sport or athletic event that takes place in New Jersey or sport or athletic event in which any New Jersey college team participates regardless of where the event takes place.”

That reportedly contributed to Robinhood — which also received cease-and-desist letters from New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois and created a standalone predictions market hub in partnership with Kalshi for the NCAA Tournament — taking down market offerings in New Jersey since the East Region semifinals and finals were held in Newark.

The cease-and-desist letters originating from Nevada, Ohio, and Illinois are more centered on Kalshi allegedly violating state law by offering sporting event contracts without licenses from those regulatory agencies.

Kalshi, though, continues to not shy away from promoting its sporting event contracts for the NCAA Tournament. That offering is front and center on Kalshi’s main landing page, and there have been $326.5 million worth of contracts traded nationwide on college basketball’s signature event. There have been an additional $69.2 million in contracts traded for the women’s NCAA Tournament.