Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has sued Kalshi and Polymarket. He accuses the prediction market operators of offering sports betting without following state gambling law. The lawsuit was filed in Providence County Superior Court. It asks the court to treat sports-related event contracts as sports wagering when they are offered to Rhode Island users.
State says contracts look like betting
Rhode Island’s case focuses on markets tied to sports outcomes and player performances. The state argues those products let users put money on sporting events in the same way they would through a sportsbook.
Rhode Island runs sports betting through a state-controlled model. The state does not allow outside operators to offer sports wagering without approval.
Neronha’s office is seeking a permanent order blocking Kalshi and Polymarket from offering sports-related event contracts in Rhode Island. The case also asks the court to stop the companies from advertising or promoting those products to residents.
Kalshi files its own federal case
Kalshi has filed its own case against Rhode Island in federal court. The company argues that its event contracts are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and cannot be controlled through state gambling laws.
That creates a clear legal divide. States argue that sports contracts function as betting products, while Kalshi says they are financial contracts listed on a regulated exchange. Polymarket was also named in Rhode Island’s lawsuit. The platform has expanded its sports and event markets while facing questions in several countries over whether prediction markets should be treated as gambling.
Other states are already in court
Rhode Island joins states including New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee in legal fights over sports event contracts. The results have not been consistent.
Some courts have protected Kalshi from state enforcement, while others have allowed regulators to continue their cases. A Third Circuit ruling in April sided with Kalshi against New Jersey, finding that the CFTC has exclusive authority over the contracts at issue.
Rhode Island uses limited operator model
Rhode Island’s legal sports betting market runs through Sportsbook Rhode Island, which is operated by IGT and William Hill under state oversight. Mobile betting and retail wagering are handled within that limited framework.
That structure gives the state a direct financial and regulatory interest in keeping unauthorized sports wagering products out of the market. The prediction market case now tests how that model applies when sports contracts are offered through federally regulated or offshore platforms.
