Utah Escalates Enforcement with 14 Criminal Charges Against Kalshi and Co-Founders

Utah has filed 14 criminal charges against prediction market operator Kalshi and its co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara. The charges follow an undercover investigation in which an agent from the Utah Attorney General’s Office opened an account using a Utah residential address, local phone number and locally issued debit card. The platform required location confirmation before the agent placed trades from Salt Lake and Davis counties.

Over roughly two weeks the investigator placed 12 sports wagers and risked a total of $114.87, finishing with a net loss of $25.10. The contracts covered professional and college football, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and an NHL game involving the Utah Mammoth. Specific positions included the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys, the Utah Utes margin against Utah State, an Eagles-Titans game, player statistics on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and running back Bijan Robinson, and the Utah Mammoth to defeat the Colorado Avalanche on September 26.

Undercover Trades Form Basis of Criminal Case

The state alleges the 12 transactions show Kalshi continued offering sports contracts to Utah residents despite the prohibition on gambling. Charges include felony counts of online gambling promotion, a pattern of unlawful activity, and a misdemeanor gambling charge. Mansour and Lopes Lara received summonses to appear in Third District Court in Salt Lake County rather than arrest warrants.

Derek Brown, Utah attorney general, stated that gambling is illegal in Utah whether one places the bet, runs the game or promotes it. Calling it a prediction market does not change what it is, and federal registration does not place a company above the law.

Kalshi Rejects Utah’s Characterization

Kalshi described the case as a crazy overreach and said Utah is clearly playing politics. The company stated it looks forward to putting a stop to this in court, just like it did in Arizona. As reported by World Casino News, the charges follow a civil lawsuit filed days earlier seeking to halt the offerings and recover alleged unlawful proceeds.

The CFTC has sued Utah, arguing federal commodities law supersedes state gambling regulation. The disagreement is proceeding through parallel federal and state actions. Other states including Arizona, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and Nevada have also pursued measures against Kalshi and similar platforms. The criminal case targets both the company and its founders personally; felony counts can carry imprisonment though specific penalties remain unspecified.