Is Kalshi Legal in Washington? Court Status and Every Gambling Lawsuit in Washington

Status as of 14 November 2026: Kalshi's sports, election, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science and "mentions" contracts are blocked for anyone located in Washington by order of the King County Superior Court.

• Controlling order: preliminary injunction 20 July 2026, final order 13 August 2026, Judge McHale.
• Compliance deadlines: 19 August and 2 September 2026; no penalty amount appears in the Attorney General's releases.
• Appeals: the Court of Appeals refused to stay the final order, per the Attorney General's release; Ninth Circuit No. 26-3106 has two readings below.
• Next dates: 7 December 2026 (Supreme Court responses); 4 January 2027 (High 5 claims).

The final injunction order of 13 August 2026 is the order in force.

Washington is one of three states with a court injunction in force against Kalshi and the birthplace of the virtual-chip rulings behind about USD 651 million in social casino settlements, class counsel's own tally.

This page covers the court status of Kalshi's contracts, the open High 5 settlement and 8 gambling lawsuits in Washington. A complaint states one side's allegations; only the court's orders decide anything.

Is Kalshi legal in Washington? What the courts have ordered

As of 14 November 2026 Kalshi may not offer sports, election, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science or "mentions" event contracts to anyone located in Washington, under the King County Superior Court's final injunction order of 13 August 2026; commodities, climate, economics and finance contracts remain. Kalshi treats its contracts as swaps under 7 U.S.C. 2(a)(1)(A).

The circuits split on that theory: the Third Circuit sided with Kalshi on 6 April 2026, the Ninth (28 August 2026) and Sixth (25 September 2026) did not. Washington's order sits within our record of gambling lawsuits in the United States.

State of Washington v. KalshiEX: the King County injunction (26-2-10264-3 SEA)

The State of Washington sued KalshiEX LLC in King County Superior Court on 27 March 2026 (26-2-10264-3 SEA; the court tracker gives 26 March) under the Gambling Act, RCW 9.46, and the Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86.

In the Attorney General's words the preliminary injunction found that Kalshi likely runs illegal online gambling and that its advertising is deceptive. No penalty amount appears in the Attorney General's releases.

Removal, remand and the Ninth Circuit

Kalshi removed the case to the Western District of Washington on 27 March 2026 (2:26-cv-01062), and Judge Coughenour remanded it, effective 20 May 2026, per the court tracker. Two readings of the Ninth Circuit appeal exist: our record lists No. 26-3106 as stayed, while the court tracker reports a stay denied on 21 May 2026.

The injunction is in force and the case continues. The federal theory behind Kalshi's position is explained in the guide to how is Kalshi legal.

Robinhood, Crypto.com and the USD 580,000 loss-recovery suit

Two operators sued Washington before and after the injunction, and one Washington user sued Kalshi to get his losses back. Robinhood Derivatives, LLC v.

Griffin was filed on 30 March 2026 (W.D. Wash. 3:26-cv-05311, Judge Coughenour) on Commodity Exchange Act preemption grounds, and NADEX (Crypto.com) v. Brown on 22 July 2026 (2:26-cv-02579). Both are pending per the court tracker.

Scott Bright v. KalshiEX was filed in King County on 23 September 2026 and removed on 23 October 2026 (W.D. Wash. 2:26-cv-04091, Judge Lin). It invokes RCW 4.24.070 and the Consumer Protection Act, claims about USD 580,000 in losses, as reported, and is an individual suit, not a class.

Underdog and Novig also sued Washington regulators, with no rulings. Washington's prediction market lawsuits number 0 in our record.

What happens next: the Supreme Court petitions and the Washington appeals

Three certiorari petitions on sports event contracts are pending; the Supreme Court has granted none and denied none as of 14 November 2026, and responses are due 7 December 2026. None has a Washington party.

Kalshi's own Washington appeal is the open Court of Appeals matter, whose number is not in the record. Every date is tracked on the list of pending appeals and high court gambling cases.

Open settlements covering Washington residents

Claims are open until 4 January 2027 in Larsen v. PTT, the High 5 Games settlement for Washington players, per the administrator's site; the preliminary approval order of 14 August 2026 set 13 November 2026 and the amending order has not been retrieved.

The class covers Washington players or purchasers of virtual coins in High 5 Casino or High 5 Vegas between 9 April 2014 and 1 October 2022, and the final approval hearing is 8 February 2027 per the site, 14 December 2026 per the order.

Any payout is an estimate. A fee request of up to 35 percent plus costs, administration of up to USD 150,000 and a service award of up to USD 15,000 come out first.

An estimated share is a member's spend divided by total claimed spend, times the net amount paid in, and it is not estimable until claims are counted. Every open deadline sits on the list of open gambling class action settlements by deadline.

Filing a claim is free; we are not a law firm or a claims administrator. Horn v. Amazon is proposed, with preliminary approval pending and no claim form yet. The guide on how to file a claim in a gambling settlement explains the steps.

Gambling lawsuits in Washington: every case we track

Our record holds 8 gambling lawsuits in Washington courts or before its Gambling Commission: 7 social casino cases, 0 loot box and video game cases, 0 prediction market cases and 1 further cases.

The same rows download as CSV from our open data page under CC BY 4.0, with stable ids and a change log.

Washington's loss-recovery statute: RCW 4.24.070 and how it has been used

Washington's Recovery of Money Lost at Gambling Act, RCW 4.24.070, is the most-used loss-recovery statute in our record: it is pleaded in 5 Washington cases, produced class settlements and the only jury verdict against a social casino, and underlies the Attorney General's 2026 suit and the Kalshi loss suit.

The Ninth Circuit held in Kater v. Churchill Downs (886 F.3d 784, 28 March 2018) that virtual chips are a "thing of value" under RCW 9.46.0285. The guide explains why virtual chips count as gambling in Washington.

Kater and the six social casino settlements

Kater v. Churchill Downs was dismissed on 19 November 2015 and reversed by the Ninth Circuit on 28 March 2018 (886 F.3d 784); every later Washington social casino case builds on that opinion. All settlements below are closed to new claims.

The six settlements in class counsel's own tally total about USD 651 million, a figure from the Zynga final-approval motion. Other states' statutes are on the list of gambling loss recovery statutes by US state.

Loot boxes and puzzle games: Valve, Royal Match and Dice Dreams

The same statute now carries the loot box cases: the nationwide class action against Valve was filed in Valve's home district on 9 March 2026, twelve days after New York sued.

Whether a paid loot box is gambling at all is the subject of the guide are loot boxes gambling.

Sweepstakes casino status in Washington

No Washington court case against a sweepstakes casino is in our record as of 14 November 2026, and Washington is not among the ten states that ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos by statute on the list we track.

That list is Settlement Insight's and is not yet checked against chaptered laws. The tracker of sweepstakes casino bans by state shows the ten states and their dates.

State enforcement: Attorney General and Gambling Commission cases

Washington enforces through two actors: the Attorney General sues in King County Superior Court under the Gambling Act and the Consumer Protection Act, and the Gambling Commission issues directives and guidance, such as its 2016 Valve directive and its January 2025 letter on virtual currency.

The Commission's January 2025 letter said games that ask players to wager virtual currency for more virtual currency are likely illegal gambling, reversing its 2014 "No Prize = No Gambling = OK To Play" pamphlet. Other states' regulators and attorneys general in court are in the category hub.

Courts and where to find the dockets

Washington gambling litigation runs through five courts and one commission, and the Ninth Circuit opinions are public PDFs while the King County orders are known through the Attorney General's releases.

Every state's cases are grouped in the tracker of gambling lawsuits by US state.

Washington is a plaintiff state, not a CFTC defendant: the CFTC's suits name Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Mexico, Kentucky, Utah, Arkansas and Louisiana. The tracker of states suing Kalshi and states sued by the CFTC keeps both lists.

Questions people ask

Why is Kalshi restricted in Washington?

Because the King County Superior Court found on 20 July 2026 that Kalshi likely runs illegal online gambling under Washington's Gambling Act and entered a final injunction on 13 August 2026. The case is Washington v. Kalshi.

Which Kalshi contracts are blocked in Washington?

Sports, election, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, and "mentions" contracts are blocked; commodities, climate, economics and finance contracts remain. Geofencing deadlines were 19 August and 2 September 2026. The dispute turns on CFTC jurisdiction vs state gambling law.

How do I claim in the High 5 Games settlement, and how much is it?

Claims are open until 4 January 2027 per the administrator's site, and any payout is an estimate that cannot be calculated until claims are counted; the fund is USD 12,000,000 to 30,000,000. Details are on the High 5 Games Washington settlement page.

Is there a Kalshi class action or payout?

No Kalshi case has produced a payout and no class is certified as of 14 November 2026. Bright v. Kalshi is an individual suit, and the consolidated S.D.N.Y. class action is on the Kalshi lawsuits page.

Where to find the other states

Other states have their own pages.

• Nevada: orders against Kalshi, Polymarket US and Coinbase; read is Kalshi legal in Nevada.
• Michigan: preliminary injunction of 1 September 2026 with a penalty of USD 500,000 per day; read is Kalshi legal in Michigan.
• Every other state: see is Kalshi legal? court status in every state.

Out of scope on this page

Court cases only; not answered here:

• How to bet online in Washington
• PrizePicks and online poker
• Which app to use

Maverick Gaming left tribal-only sports betting in place by procedure, not by a ruling on the merits.

Edited by the GamblingLawsuits.org Editorial Team. How every case on this page is sourced and checked. Last checked 14 November 2026. Next scheduled check: 7 December 2026 (Supreme Court responses); 4 January 2027 (High 5 claim deadline).