Kalshi: states, fees and legal status for sports contracts

What is Kalshi and who regulates it?

Kalshi is a prediction-market exchange: you buy a yes or no contract on a game’s result, priced from 1 to 99 cents, and it pays $1 if the outcome wins. SlateProof tracks it as a hedge and arbitrage venue on equal terms with the 9 other venues it covers.

• The CFTC's list of designated contract markets shows Kalshi with status Designated, dated 2020-11-03. Source: CFTC, designated contract markets, checked October 6, 2026.

Our availability data describes it this way: “Federally regulated (CFTC) exchange. Sports contracts are off in Nevada, Michigan and Washington by court order or settlement, and not live in Utah. Some tribal lands are blocked.” The federal regulator that oversees the exchange is not the body that licenses sportsbooks, and several states dispute that sports contracts fall under federal law, which is why this page lists the states where it is contested.

In which states is Kalshi available?

Kalshi is listed in 47 of 51 jurisdictions (46 states and DC) as of October 5, 2026, and 12 of those are contested: a court ruling, cease-and-desist or lawsuit about exchange sports contracts is pending there.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizonacontested
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticutcontested
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinoiscontested
• Indiana
• Iowacontested
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Marylandcontested
• Massachusettscontested
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouricontested
• Montanacontested
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New Yorkcontested
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohiocontested
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Islandcontested
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennesseecontested
• Texas
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

Where is it not listed?

Not listed in Michigan, Nevada, Utah and Washington. Our data adds: “Sports contracts are off in Nevada, Michigan and Washington by court order or settlement, and not live in Utah.”

Availability checked October 5, 2026; the next recheck is due October 16, 2026. Where you are when you place the bet is what counts, not where you live. Sources: cbssports.com, oddsshopper.com, spectrumlocalnews.com, geekwire.com.

What age do you need to use Kalshi?

The minimum age is 18 in the states where Kalshi is listed.

• Kalshi's help center lists being 18 years or older as a requirement to open an individual account. Source: Kalshi Help Center, Signing up as an individual, checked October 6, 2026.

The age that applies is the one in the venue’s own app for your state; it can be higher than a state’s legal minimum.

Is Kalshi legal where I live?

It depends on the state, and for sports contracts the answer is being decided in court. SlateProof lists Kalshi in 47 jurisdictions and marks 12 of them contested; those are checked October 5, 2026 and due for a recheck by October 16, 2026.

Contested states

Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Each state page lists what we have sourced about that state.

Not listed

Michigan, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

The federal court picture

These appeals concern Kalshi, the exchange in most of the cases, and they bear on every exchange’s sports contracts.

• On April 6, 2026, the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 in KalshiEX v. Flaherty that Kalshi had shown a reasonable chance of success on its argument that federal commodities law preempts New Jersey's gambling laws for its sports contracts, and affirmed the injunction protecting Kalshi in New Jersey. Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, opinion in No. 25-1922, checked October 6, 2026.
• On August 28, 2026, the Ninth Circuit (KalshiEX v. Assad) held Kalshi had not shown a likelihood that federal commodities law preempts Nevada's gaming rules for its sports contracts. It affirmed in part the dissolving of Kalshi's injunction and remanded in part. Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, opinion in No. 25-7516, checked October 6, 2026.
• On September 25, 2026, the Sixth Circuit held Kalshi had not shown its sports contracts are federal swaps and, alternatively, that federal law does not preempt Ohio's or Tennessee's gambling laws. It affirmed Ohio's win and vacated a Tennessee injunction that had favored Kalshi. Source: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, opinion in Nos. 26-3196/26-5235, checked October 6, 2026.
• New Jersey asked the U.S. Supreme Court on September 2, 2026 to review the Third Circuit's Kalshi ruling (No. 26-299, docketed September 8). Kalshi's response is now due November 9, 2026, extended from October 8. The Court has not decided whether to hear the case. Source: Supreme Court of the United States, docket No. 26-299, checked October 6, 2026.

What does Kalshi charge?

SlateProof models Kalshi’s taker fee on a pregame sports market as 7% of price times (1 minus price) per $1 contract, checked October 6, 2026.

Worked example. 100 contracts at $0.80 cost $80.00 plus about $1.12 in fees, and pay $100.00 if the outcome wins: a profit of about $18.88.

• Kalshi's help center says it charges a transaction fee on the expected earnings of a contract, with maker fees on some markets for resting orders that later fill; the complete fee schedule is a separate document. Source: Kalshi Help Center, Fees (April 19, 2026), checked October 6, 2026.

The table uses SlateProof’s own fee model per $1 contract. Your actual order can differ through rounding, maker and taker status and the venue’s current schedule, which the venue’s own fee page controls.

What sign-up credit does SlateProof track for Kalshi?

Kalshi has no recurring promotion that most customers receive, so SlateProof prices it as a hedge venue and for its sign-up credit.

Sign-up credit

Amounts are the catalog’s, not a promise that your account is offered them. Credits usually cannot be withdrawn, only what they win. The offer in the app is the one that counts.

How do bets at Kalshi settle when something unusual happens?

Exchange contracts settle by each exchange’s own rules, and those differ from a sportsbook’s in the cases that matter for a hedge or arbitrage.

• A player who does not play. Exchanges do not refund like a sportsbook. Kalshi settles it at the last fair price. If the other leg is at a sportsbook that voids, one leg can lose.
• A postponed game. On exchanges a postponed game settles at the last fair price, not as a refund.
• An NFL tie. A tied NFL game pushes at the sportsbook but pays $0.50 per contract on exchanges.
• Scope of the market. Confirm that an NHL contract includes overtime and the shootout as a sportsbook does, and that a soccer contract is the 90-minute result, not a full match with extra time.
• A whole-number line. Exchanges may not refund a push, so SlateProof blocks that mix.
• Two exchange legs. When both legs are exchange contracts, confirm that each names the same game and settles on the same result source and deadline.

These are the cases SlateProof’s arbitrage checks flag. The venue’s own rules are the final word, and a locked profit holds only if every leg is accepted and settles as expected.

How does SlateProof use Kalshi?

SlateProof uses Kalshi as a hedge and arbitrage venue and a source of reference prices, under the same rules as every other venue.

• Its own price never sets its own fair value: each quote is screened against a fair value built without it and the books that copy it, and no venue is the main one.
• Its taker fee is in every stake SlateProof shows, an exchange leg needs resting depth (which caps the stake), and a quote whose two sides add up to 100% is a midpoint, not a price you can buy at.
• SlateProof never places a bet or a trade for you.

Official site, guides and calculators

Terms, your state’s availability and your own offers are final on the official site: official Kalshi site. SlateProof is not affiliated with Kalshi and earns nothing from a click.

• Prediction markets and sportsbooks: legality, fees and risks
• Arbitrage betting explained
• Arbitrage calculator with exchange fees
• Hedge calculator
• Odds converter for contract prices

Compare with the other exchanges SlateProof tracks: Polymarket US, Novig, ProphetX, or see all tracked exchanges and the state-by-state table.