Arkansas attorney general sues Kalshi and VGW over alleged illegal gambling
Enforcement & compliance1 min read
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed separate lawsuits against Kalshi and VGW on Wednesday, alleging that both offered illegal gambling in the state. He seeks financial penalties, customer-loss restitution and unpaid taxes; Kalshi did not respond to a request for comment before publication.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed separate suits on Wednesday against Kalshi, a prediction markets operator, and VGW, a sweepstakes operator. The complaints say both firms run unlawful gambling in the state. Griffin also wants large monetary penalties, with money returned to customers and tax payments returned to the state.
Griffin said in a news release that "Companies that operate gambling businesses in Arkansas are subject to our gambling laws, plain and simple." Kalshi had not answered a request for comment by the time of publication.
Griffin chose blunt language for the case against Kalshi, labeling the prediction markets operator a "pocket-size bookie." According to the suit, Kalshi lets consumers put money on football games, elections, awards shows and nearly any other real-world event.
The complaint acknowledges Kalshi's position that its products are not gambling. It counters that Kalshi provides features such as self-exclusion, deposit limits and trading breaks, which gambling operators typically offer. The filing adds that the platform promotes addiction resources and has a partnership with the National Council for Problem Gambling.
Griffin said the claims against both Kalshi and VGW rest on the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleging that each sells a product misrepresenting what it is.