TLDR Kalshi asked for emergency relief in Connecticut after losing its bid for a preliminary injunction, and the judge said no. Judge Vernon D. Oliver ruled the CFTC cannot override a court’s reading of federal law. The case hinges on whether Kalshi’s sports event contracts count as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act. The judge found Connecticut’s gambling laws work alongside federal law, not against it. Oliver dismissed Kalshi’s claims of harm and said the public interest favors letting Connecticut enforce its own laws.
Kalshi lost another court fight in Connecticut this week. Days after a judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction, the company asked for emergency relief while it appeals. The judge said no.
Judge Vernon D. Oliver said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission cannot override a court’s reading of federal law. The case centers on whether Kalshi’s sports event contracts count as swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act.
Oliver had already ruled that they do not. That earlier ruling let Connecticut enforce its own gambling laws against the company.
The CFTC then issued an emergency order telling Kalshi to keep operating in the state. Oliver rejected that order. He wrote that the CFTC lacks authority to issue a directive that conflicts with a court’s decision.
Court Says State and Federal Law Do Not Conflict
Oliver again found that Kalshi’s contracts are not swaps under federal law. That means they fall outside the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction.
Kalshi argued that the CFTC’s order proved a clash between state and federal rules. The court disagreed.
Oliver said Connecticut’s gambling laws work alongside federal law rather than against it. He pointed to a similar decision from a federal judge in New York.
That earlier case also found state law was not blocked by federal law in a