Robinhood asked a US judge to block Massachusetts from applying its gaming laws to its sports prediction operations one day after a state court approved an action targeting Kalshi’s sports betting.
The preliminary injunction filed Tuesday, if granted, would make Massachusetts a microcosm of the legal split playing out in litigation across the country, as judges have come down on both sides of whether states can apply their laws to the federally regulated markets.
Robinhood, which offers sports contracts through Kalshi’s and ForecastEx’s markets, told the federal judge that Massachusetts’ gaming laws are preempted by the Commodity Exchange Act’s framework for futures and swaps trading, citing rulings from cases in New Jersey, Nevada, and California.
Regulation by states would infringe on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s jurisdiction and “fracture what Congress intended to be a uniform set of regulations,” the company said, adding that contrary rulings in Maryland federal court and the Massachusetts case are “inconsistent with the weight of authority, and their reasoning is flawed.”
Robinhood says the federal law explicitly grants the CFTC “exclusive jurisdiction” over the markets’ activities, and legislative history also backs its broad interpretation of the statute’s preemptive sweep.
The threat of state enforcement is “actual and imminent,” Robinhood said, pointing to a November letter from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to sports gaming licensees threatening action if they direct patrons to unlicensed markets like Kalshi or ForecastEx.
Robinhood said it fears civil sanctions reaching $5,000 per occurrence as well as the possibility of imprisonment and criminal fines possible after the first offense. The company said it also stands to lose the goodwill of its more than 41,000 users in Massachusetts.
The company attempted to shut down Massachusetts enforcement late last year but was rebuffed by the court, which found its challenge unripe given Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s (D) lawsuit against Kalshi.
The judge reopened Robinhood’s case earlier this month after it announced its partnership with ForecastEx.
Representatives for the parties weren’t immediately available for comment.
Robinhood is represented by Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC.
The case is Robinhood Derivatives, LLC v. Campbell, D. Mass., No. 1:25-cv-12578, motion filed 1/20/26.
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