NFL and 39 states back New Jersey in Kalshi Supreme Court fight
The NFL and a 39-state coalition have filed amicus briefs urging the US Supreme Court to hear Flaherty v KalshiEx, as Coinbase prepares to exit Michigan's prediction markets.
The National Football League has filed an amicus brief asking the US Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Flaherty v KalshiEx before the current season ends, backing the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement in its dispute with the prediction platform.
According to EGR, the league told the court that preserving the integrity of its games is its highest priority, and argued that sports event contracts do not give users the same protections as regulated sports betting.
A separate brief has been filed by 39 states, led by Ohio and including Alabama, Arizona, Maryland, Maine, New York and North Carolina, also supporting the New Jersey regulator's position. The coalition asked the Supreme Court to confirm that existing state laws do not stop them regulating sports wagering, a category they say covers prediction markets. The combined brief stated that only the court could resolve what it called a national disorder by giving a single answer to the issue nationwide.
Kalshi, meanwhile, has continued expanding its tribal partnerships, agreeing deals with four Native American tribes to launch tribal-branded event contracts. The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma will join Greenville Rancheria, Alturas Indian Rancheria and Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation in California, each owning its own app while Kalshi handles the exchange, trade execution and clearing. The move follows a similar arrangement struck last month with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana.
Coinbase has taken a different path in Michigan, agreeing to stop offering new sports-related event contracts in the state. The Michigan Gaming Control Board said the exchange will wind down existing accounts by 10 October 2026, after failing in August to secure a preliminary injunction that would have let it continue operating.
MGCB executive director Henry Williams said Coinbase's withdrawal, following similar steps by Robinhood and Kalshi, underscored Michigan's commitment to enforcing its gaming laws.
Norway has also moved against the sector. The Norwegian Gambling Authority has issued blocking notices to 62 unlicensed gambling sites, including Kalshi and Polymarket, giving them until 15 October to respond before being cut off from the market.
NGA director Atle Hamar, who first raised concerns about event contract platforms being offered to Norwegian consumers in August, told the broadcaster TV2 that the authority gives notice before reaching a decision, adding that in practice it had already concluded its view.
The parallel developments in the US courts, state regulators and now a European authority illustrate how prediction markets are being contested on multiple fronts simultaneously, with sports leagues, state gaming regulators and overseas watchdogs each pressing their own case against the platforms' current structure.