Kalshi, co-founders hit with criminal charges in US state of Utah

The US state of Utah has announced criminal charges against popular prediction market Kalshi and its two co-founders, accusing the platform and its executives of illegally promoting online gambling.

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown filed the charges against Kalshi, chief executive officer Tarek Mansour and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara on Wednesday in a district court in Salt Lake City.

The charges come after a federal judge in August ruled that Utah could enforce its stringent anti-gambling laws against prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket.

The criminal complaint accuses the defendants of 12 counts of online gambling promotion, one count of general gambling promotion and one count of pattern of unlawful activity.

More to come…