Nevada Resort Association Gets Court’s Approval to Join Sports Betting Fight

A federal judge has given the Nevada Resort Association (NRA) the green light to jump into an ongoing legal tussle between prediction market platform Kalshi and Nevada’s top gaming regulators. This development comes as the state’s gaming industry pushes back against what it views as a rising threat to its monitored sports betting system.

Court Sides with Nevada Casinos, Permits NRA to Join Fight Over Sports Prediction Market

Judge Andrew Gordon of the US District Court approved the NRA’s request on June 2, reported The Las Vegas Review-Journal. This allows the casino lobbying group to join Kalshi’s lawsuit. The lawsuit challenges Nevada‘s cease-and-desist order from earlier this year. Kalshi started to offer event-based prediction contracts linked to sports results in late 2024. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) then ordered Kalshi to stop operations on March 4. The NGCB said Kalshi engaged in unauthorized sports betting.

Kalshi filed a lawsuit against the NGCB and the Nevada Gaming Commission on March 28. They claim their activities are legal under federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). A temporary injunction now protects Kalshi from regulatory action while the case continues.

Judge Gordon explained the NRA’s involvement by highlighting how it could affect its members, 70 casino resorts across the state, financially. In his decision, he noted that these businesses had invested to get and keep gaming licenses under Nevada’s tough laws, and might face unfair rivalry if Kalshi continues without following the same rules.

Casino Group Warns of Regulatory Breakdown if Kalshi Bypasses State Betting Rules

The NRA claims that letting unlicensed platforms run prediction markets similar to sports bets could change how gambling works in the state. In its court papers, the group suggested that if Kalshi’s actions continue, it might undo years of regulatory history and put billions in yearly sports betting money at risk. Nevada’s sportsbooks took $7.8 billion in bets in 2024 alone.

Kalshi argues that its contracts are financial instruments, not traditional bets, and should be regulated at the federal level. The company claims the CFTC’s authority overrides state gaming rules, allowing it to operate in states that ban or limit sports betting.

Nevada is not the only state against Kalshi’s expansion. At least six other states with legal sports betting have given similar stop orders. This week, another company North American Derivatives Exchange (doing business as Crypto.com), sued in Nevada federal court after getting a regulatory warning in May. That lawsuit assigned to Judge James Mahan, echoes many of the claims raised in Kalshi’s case, paving the way for wider legal examination over who controls the future of prediction markets linked to sports events.