Mexican Football Federation Sues Kalshi for Continued Use of Liga MX Trademarks in Prediction Markets
FMF sued Kalshi in New York federal court on September 22 over Liga MX trademark and club name usage in prediction markets. Multiple cease-and-desist letters from July 17 onward went unheeded as Kalshi claimed nominative fair use and cited an Apple stock analogy. This contrasts with Kalshi’s earlier removal of NCAA March Madness terms to avoid litigation.
SCCG Take — The case will probe nominative fair use boundaries for CFTC-regulated sports contracts. Prediction platforms must reassess trademark exposure when generic identifiers create customer confusion.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) filed suit against Kalshi in the Southern District of New York on September 22. The governing body for Mexican soccer seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and damages including profits from alleged infringement of the Liga MX trademark and club names.
FMF contends that Kalshi‘s practices mislead customers into assuming official affiliation and improperly designate FMF data to settle market outcomes. The operator had received repeated demands to cease these uses before the complaint was filed.
Timeline of Cease-and-Desist Exchanges
The dispute opened on July 17 when FMF general counsel Rafael García Job sent a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Kalshi stop using the Liga MX logo, club logos, and protected trademarks. Kalshi replied on July 21 asserting nominative fair use, removed certain logos, added disclaimers, yet retained the league and club names. Kalshi General Counsel Richard Heaslip informed FMF the matter was “closed.”
FMF reiterated its position on July 27. Kalshi Head of Litigation Jovalin Dedaj responded on August 6, limiting the usage to “plain-text identification” for CFTC-regulated contracts. Counsel at Blank Rome LLP sent a further letter on August 18 granting 10 business days to comply. Kalshi rejected the demands on September 1.
The complaint records Kalshi‘s comparison to investment firms using the Apple trademark to label stocks. FMF counters that Kalshi identifies other events generically, employing “Pro Baseball,” “The Big Game,” and “MMA” rather than protected terms.
Limits of Nominative Fair Use in Event Contracts
This matter differs from an earlier NCAA challenge in which Kalshi removed “March Madness,” “Sweet Sixteen,” and “Final Four” references, along with “Outcome verified from NCAA” language, replacing them with generic descriptors such as “Men’s College Basketball Champion.” No lawsuit resulted. Here Kalshi has not extended equivalent concessions, maintaining its approach constitutes fair use.
As reported by Gambling Insider, the litigation tests how far prediction markets may rely on sports trademarks to specify the events underlying their contracts. A ruling could clarify the viability of nominative fair use defenses when city names alone create ambiguity across multiple divisions, as Kalshi asserts occurs with Mexican clubs.
Reporting: Gambling Insider
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
Gaming, betting and prediction markets — the desk’s read, every weekday.
Subscribe →