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you generate TOS : What you agree to Thumbnails : Youtube Thumbnail generator New York sues Kalshi as "illegal gambling
operation" Rob Beschizza 6:51 pm Sat Aug 1, 2026 Sup's photo / Shutterstock One of the oddest things about the Trump era
is media blithely accepting the euphemism "prediction markets" to refer to online gambling sites such as Polymarket and
Kalshi. We do this because the UI is complex and we're easily bamboozled by the structural distinction between contracts
and wagers. But all these fintech fanfreluches can't obscure the fact that it's guys sat around betting on sports, and
lawyers are catching up: New York state is the latest to sue Kalshi, accusing the company of being an unlicensed
gambling site. "Kalshi has chosen to ignore New York's gaming laws, which exist to protect consumers, prevent
problematic gambling, deliver funding for critical public services, and ensure that every company plays by the same
rules," Governor Hochul said. "This choice has consequences, and working closely with Attorney General James, New York
is taking action to stop this illegal behavior and bring Kalshi into compliance, because no company is above the law."
The petition alleges that Kalshi meets the legal definition of gambling because bettors wager on uncertain outcomes
beyond their control: "gambling platforms, plain and simple," James said. A Kalshi spokesperson called the suit
"political theater." Kalshi launched in 2021 and added sports in 2025, offering them without a license from the New York
State Gaming Commission. The state says the platform accepts users aged 18 to 20, below New York's mobile sports betting
minimum of 21. Kalshi and rival Polymarket maintain they offer "commodities trading" overseen by the federal Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, a position the Trump administration has backed. The two firms face at least 20 lawsuits from
state regulators, tribes and individuals claiming it's gamblin, dodging gaming taxes that fund schools and
problem-gambling treatment. Also sued recently in New York were Coinbase and Gemini over their own prediction markets,
and game publisher and markeplace Valve over lootboxes. The virtual items awarded when a user opens a "loot box" are
cosmetic, like a hat for a player's character or artistic skins for a player's weapons. Like slot machines, the prizes
won from loot boxes are determined randomly in accordance with odds set by the casino, which in this case is Valve.
Valve intentionally makes some items far harder to win than others, making the rare items more valuable. Despite having
no in-game functionality, these virtual items can be extremely valuable, with the rarest items selling for thousands of
dollars online. Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Announce New York Has Sued Kalshi for Running Illegal
Gambling Operation [New York State Attorney General] COMMENT ON SUBSTACK gambling kalshi Americans now lose a quarter of
a trillion dollars a year gambling Americans will lose about $250 billion gambling this year, reports Joey Politano, a
number that's up 60% in half a decade. And that doesn't include "prediction markets" and cryptocurrencies, both…
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