Polymarket and OG.com File Federal Preemption Suits Against Arkansas After AG Targets Kalshi

Polymarket and Crypto.com’s OG.com have filed separate federal lawsuits against Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and the Arkansas Racing & Gaming Commission. The complaints seek to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws against their prediction market platforms. Both operators cite Griffin’s recent state court action against Kalshi as direct evidence that enforcement against them is next.

The filings follow a clear pattern. After a state targets one platform, others move into federal court to frame the dispute around Commodity Exchange Act preemption rather than state gambling rules. Arkansas sits in the Eighth Circuit, which has not yet ruled on the question that has divided other federal appeals courts.

Complaints Tie Standing to Kalshi Action and Griffin Statements

North American Derivatives Exchange, doing business as OG.com, filed a 59-page complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. It requests a declaration that Arkansas gambling laws are preempted and a permanent injunction against enforcement. The complaint relies on Griffin’s suit against Kalshi, his public statements, and the state’s amicus briefs in seven other federal appeals courts.

“Consistent with the Kalshi Enforcement Action and Defendants’ public statements evincing an intent to attempt to enforce Arkansas gambling laws against federally regulated exchanges, Defendants will take the same action against OG.com,” the complaint states. Polymarket’s QCX LLC filed a parallel suit in the Western District of Arkansas seeking identical declaratory and injunctive relief.

Griffin sued Kalshi last week under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, labeling the platform a “pocket-sized bookie.” The same day he sued sweepstakes operator VGW. Those suits followed Griffin’s October 2025 formal opinion that such platforms constitute illegal gambling without a state license. According to reporting by SBC Americas, both Kalshi and VGW rejected the allegations.

Eighth Circuit Cases Add to National Split on Preemption

Federal appeals courts remain divided. The Third Circuit ruled for Kalshi in New Jersey. The Ninth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in Nevada and denied rehearing on Nov. 4. The Sixth Circuit ruled against Kalshi in the Ohio and Tennessee cases. The Second Circuit denied injunctions to Kalshi and Coinbase in New York and Connecticut.

The Eighth Circuit has issued no ruling, though Kalshi’s opening brief in its Iowa appeal is due Dec. 7. Three cert petitions already sit with the U.S. Supreme Court. The CFTC has sued nine states, won a preliminary injunction against Illinois on Oct. 30, proposed a rule defining certain event contracts as swaps, and directed exchanges to end geographic restrictions.

The concentration of these Arkansas and Missouri cases inside the Eighth Circuit makes the forum the next likely battleground. Resolution there will shape how operators, states, and the CFTC navigate overlapping claims to jurisdiction over event contracts.