By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. — New Mexico residents who bet on sports, elections, or pop culture through the Kalshi app may be doing so illegally — and the state wants it stopped.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed suit Thursday in Santa Fe against Kalshi, Inc. and KalshiEX LLC, alleging the New York-based prediction market platform operates as an unlicensed online sportsbook in violation of New Mexico’s Gaming Control Act and Criminal Code. The complaint, filed in First Judicial District Court, seeks a permanent injunction blocking Kalshi from offering sports wagering in the state.
“Kalshi has ignored that framework entirely while offering online sports betting within the state,” Torrez said in a press release. “We are filing this lawsuit to protect the integrity of our laws, our regulatory system, and most importantly, consumers.”
Kalshi describes itself as a federally regulated exchange where users trade contracts on real-world outcomes — not a sportsbook. Court records show Kalshi has sued Minnesota and Rhode Island to block similar state actions; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit blocked New Jersey from enforcing its gaming laws against the platform earlier this year, while a Nevada court ordered Kalshi to halt operations in that state pending appeal.
The suit alleges Kalshi accepts wagers on thousands of events daily — NFL games, NBA prop bets, elections, Love Island, and FIFA World Cup outcomes — through “event contracts” that function identically to traditional sports bets. The platform currently lists former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland as an 88% favorite to win the November governor’s race over Republican Gregg Hull. The complaint states Kalshi allows users as young as 18 to participate, three years below New Mexico’s minimum gaming age of 21, and has never applied for a state gaming license.
New Mexico law permits sports betting only through tribal gaming compacts. Six tribes and pueblos currently offer in-person sports wagering on tribal lands.