The Michigan Gaming Control Board has withdrawn its membership from the National Council on Problem Gambling, citing the NCPG’s partnership with KalshiEX as incompatible with the Board’s position that Kalshi is operating an unlicensed sports betting platform in the state.
The move follows a March 2026 civil complaint filed by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel alleging that Kalshi’s sports event contracts constitute sports betting under the Michigan Lawful Sports Betting Act and that the platform has been accepting Michigan residents without an MGCB licence. Nessel’s filing seeks both a declaratory judgment and a permanent injunction barring Kalshi from offering or advertising those markets in the state.
A Michigan court issued a Temporary Restraining Order against KalshiEX on June 29, 2026, effective for 14 days, explicitly restricting the platform’s ability to offer the challenged sports contracts while the litigation proceeds. That emergency relief was already in place before the MGCB’s decision to sever ties with the NCPG, underscoring how untenable any perceived association with Kalshi had become for the regulator.
A Conflict Long in the Making
The MGCB’s hostility toward Kalshi predates Nessel’s lawsuit. In early 2025, the Board announced a formal investigation into sports-related event contracts on Kalshi and Robinhood, warning that the products bypass Michigan’s regulatory framework and create consumer protection gaps. The Board subsequently sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission outlining those concerns, escalating the matter to the federal derivatives regulator before any litigation was filed.
MGCB Executive Director Henry Williams also warned Michigan’s licensed operators not to engage with prediction markets, stating that involvement could jeopardise their existing gaming licences. That bright line between regulated sports betting and CFTC-style event trading makes any affiliation between a problem gambling body and Kalshi a direct reputational and political liability for the Board.
Michigan’s actions are part of a broader multi-state enforcement wave documented across multiple jurisdictions pushing back against prediction market operators. Nevada and New Jersey have issued cease-and-desist orders to Kalshi, prompting the platform to file legal challenges against both states, while Ohio, Illinois, Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Washington are each conducting their own reviews. Nevada’s compliance disputes with Kalshi have already produced contempt proceedings over geofencing failures, and Kalshi’s federal preemption challenge in Ohio remains unresolved.
A CFTC roundtable on sports event markets is scheduled, and Michigan’s withdrawal from the NCPG will likely surface as evidence of regulatory depth of feeling when federal officials weigh the future of such contracts. Within Michigan, the critical near-term question is whether the TRO against Kalshi is converted into a preliminary or permanent injunction as Nessel’s lawsuit advances.
Petra Vanhoof has spent the better part of a decade following the shifting tides of gambling regulation across Europe and beyond. She came up through the compliance side of the industry before pivoting to writing, which gives her a grounded, no-nonsense perspective on the rules, loopholes, and political maneuvering that shape how operators actually do business. She is particularly drawn to the gap between what regulators say and what the market ends up doing in response.