Five prediction market operators have restricted their prediction market offerings in Utah amid escalating legal pressure, following the state’s filing of 14 criminal charges against Kalshi and its co-founders, Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara, on 28 October.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Fanatics, Robinhood and PrizePicks have withdrawn or restricted certain event contracts, although the extent of the measures varies between operators. The changes come as Utah authorities step up enforcement of the state’s gambling prohibition, while a broader legal dispute continues over federal and state authority to regulate prediction markets.
DraftKings began restricting its prediction market offerings on 28 October, followed by FanDuel Predicts on 30 October. Fanatics Markets subsequently stopped accepting trades in Utah on 4 November.
Utah Attorney General Derek Brown welcomed the companies’ decisions, describing them as a response to the state’s enforcement efforts.
“Utah law is clear: gambling is illegal in our state,” Brown said.
The attorney general said the restrictions were consistent with the state’s efforts to protect residents from gambling-related harm and reiterated that his office would continue pursuing companies suspected of violating Utah law.
Brown’s office also warned that individuals involved in promoting, organising or profiting from illegal gambling activities could face enforcement action, extending its message beyond the companies operating the platforms.
Major operators limit event contracts
DraftKings Predictions has stopped offering sports, political, novelty and certain other event contracts to customers physically located in Utah. However, users can continue trading financial contracts linked to stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
The company confirmed that existing positions in affected markets would remain open and settle normally. Customers can close those positions before settlement but cannot open new ones in the restricted categories while located in Utah.
FanDuel has introduced similar restrictions, withdrawing sports, political and novelty event contracts from its FanDuel Predicts platform. Customers retain access to contracts involving economic benchmarks and financial indicators, while existing positions will also settle as expected.
Fanatics has taken a broader approach. The company stopped accepting new trades across its Fanatics Markets offering in Utah on 4 November, rather than limiting the restrictions to specific event categories.
Robinhood and PrizePicks also restrict access
Other prediction market operators have implemented comparable measures as regulatory pressure increases.
Robinhood restricted Utah customers from opening new positions in sports, cultural, election and political event contracts from 2 November.
The company maintained that the contracts did not violate state law but confirmed that customers would continue to have access to other categories, including financial and economic markets.
PrizePicks has also withdrawn its Team Picks and Culture Picks products in Utah, covering sports-related predictions and contracts involving politics, entertainment and popular culture.
The company continues to offer its daily fantasy sports-style Player Picks product in the state.
Kalshi case intensifies regulatory dispute
The restrictions follow criminal proceedings initiated by Utah authorities against Kalshi and its co-founders on 28 October.
The state filed 14 charges, including 13 felony counts, alleging that the prediction market operator violated Utah’s gambling laws by facilitating sports-related transactions.
The case stems partly from an undercover investigation in which an agent from the Utah Attorney General’s Office opened an account and placed 12 sports-related trades through the platform.
Kalshi has challenged the state’s position, arguing that its event contracts fall under federal regulation rather than individual state gambling laws.
The dispute also involves the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which filed a separate lawsuit seeking to prevent Utah from enforcing its gambling restrictions against federally regulated prediction market operators.
The conflict raises broader questions about the extent of state authority over prediction markets operating under federal oversight, particularly where event contracts involve sporting outcomes.
While several operators have voluntarily reduced their offerings in Utah, the criminal proceedings against Kalshi and the wider jurisdictional dispute remain unresolved.