Louisiana Court Bars Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase

Opening Summary

On November 12, 2026, a Louisiana state judge issued an ex parte temporary restraining order that, for now, bars a long list of prediction market operators from offering event contracts to people in the state. Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the filing that morning and posted a signed copy of the order later the same day. We're working from those posted copies. The order is temporary, and it isn't a ruling on the merits of the state's claims. She alleges that the contracts are illegal gambling, a way to gamble on sports, elections and awards without a state license. She described the operators as unlicensed.

The platforms have argued, in pending federal cases, that federal law leaves the authority to regulate prediction markets to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator of designated contract markets, not to state gambling laws.

The Petition That Started the Louisiana Prediction Markets Lawsuit

Murrill said she filed a lawsuit "this morning" in Louisiana state court against "Kalshi, Polymarket, and numerous other illegal online gambling operations," and that she was "seeking an immediate restraining order and an injunction to restore the rule of law in Louisiana." That filing is her move to sue what she treats as an illegal gambling operation under state law. The first page of the petition, which she attached to that announcement, is captioned in the 21st Judicial District Court for the Parish of Tangipahoa as a "Petition for Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction, Civil Penalties, and Other Relief." The docket-number line on that page is blank.

We counted 31 entities in the caption. They include five Kalshi companies, among them KalshiEX LLC; QCX LLC, doing business as Polymarket US, and four related companies; Robinhood Markets, Inc. and Robinhood Derivatives, LLC; ForecastEx LLC; Rothera Exchange and Clearing LLC; five Crypto.com-related entities, including North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc.; Coinbase Global, Inc. and Coinbase Financial Markets, Inc.; Ludlow Exchange, LLC, doing business as Novig; three Underdog entities; IG Group Holdings PLC; four Gemini companies; and ProphetX OpCo LLC, doing business as ProphetX. The caption therefore reaches Coinbase and Gemini, not only Kalshi and Polymarket, which have already gone to federal court in Louisiana.

The petition's opening lines, on the page she released, say that "[i]n today's digital betting market, virtually anything can become a wager." As an example, it points to KalshiEX LLC's platform and lists questions a user can "bet on," including who will control the Senate, who will be "Trump's next Press Secretary," which movie will win the Oscar for "Best Picture," the "Feds fund rate" at the end of 2027, and the College Football SEC Championship. Those are the state's allegations, taken from the first page of the petition. The state alleges that sports-related event contracts are sports gambling under Louisiana law. Only the first page of the petition is public, so the remaining claims and requested relief aren't in the record we've reviewed.

What the Temporary Restraining Order Covers, and What It Doesn't

Later on November 12, she posted photographs of a signed "Ex Parte Temporary Restraining Order." The signature line identifies District Judge Jeffrey Johnson of the 21st Judicial District Court, Parish of Tangipahoa, and states that the order was issued on November 12, 2026, at 3:48 p.m. Central Time. The copy also bears a Tangipahoa Parish clerk file stamp dated November 12, 2026, with the number 20260004258. The signed order took effect when it was issued. The docketed version isn't public yet. The Attorney General's news page, maintained by her office in Baton Rouge, still had no official press release as of Friday afternoon, November 13.

The order says the named defendants, and others in active concert with them who receive actual knowledge of it, are temporarily restrained and enjoined from:

• operating, offering, listing, accepting, clearing, settling, brokering, making a market in, or otherwise facilitating or offering any "event contract" from, to, or on behalf of any person located in Louisiana without a valid license and permit issued under Chapter 10 of Title 27 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes;
• accepting, facilitating, or allowing any wager from, or allowing market access to, any person located in Louisiana;
• failing to geofence Louisiana so that the offerings described in the order are not accessible to persons located in the state; and
• representing, advertising, or marketing to any person located in Louisiana that the defendants' event contracts or wagering offerings are lawful, licensed, or authorized in Louisiana, or otherwise making untrue, deceptive, or misleading representations about those offerings in violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices Act, a state consumer protection statute.

The order defines "event contract" or "wager" to include sports-related contracts, elections, and awards events, among other categories it treats as sports wagering under Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 27, and to include various bet types through "gambling by computer" as defined in La. R.S. 14:90.3(B). It cites her authority under Louisiana's computer-gambling and state gaming statutes, including La. R.S. 14:90.3, 27:19.1(G), and 27:19.2.

The order expires at the same hour on the tenth day after issuance, which is November 22, 2026, at 3:48 p.m. Central Time, unless the court, for good cause shown, extends it for periods of no more than ten days each, or the defendants consent to a longer period. A hearing on the state's motion for longer-term injunctive relief is set for November 30, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time. Unless the court extends the order or the defendants agree, that leaves about eight days between the expiration date and the hearing.

This is an ex parte temporary restraining order, entered on the state's papers, not a trial ruling and not a final judgment. The order recites that the petition "makes clear" that the defendants are violating Louisiana law and that immediate relief is warranted, including that no bond and no advance notice were required. Those findings were made without the platforms appearing, and they don't decide the preemption fight already pending in federal court.

Federal Cases Already Pending in the Western and Eastern Districts of Louisiana

The state's filing wasn't the first Louisiana case in this dispute. On October 23, 2026, KalshiEX LLC sued Attorney General Murrill, Governor Jeff Landry, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, and other Louisiana officials in the Western District of Louisiana. The case is a federal lawsuit, KalshiEX LLC v. Murrill, No. 1:26-cv-04476, assigned to Judge Jerry Edwards, Jr. On November 12, the same day as the state-court petition, KalshiEX asked that court for a temporary restraining order and longer-term injunctive relief (ECF No. 23). As of CourtListener's November 12 docket and Friday reporting by The Advocate, the federal court hadn't ruled on that motion, and no ruling has appeared in QCX LLC v. Murrill, No. 2:26-cv-02482 (E.D. La., filed October 27, 2026, Judge Lance M. Africk).

Kalshi argues, according to coverage of the federal case, that event contracts are financial instruments under the Commodity Exchange Act, which it says gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over contracts traded on a federally licensed exchange, so state law can't be used to shut those markets down. In that telling, Kalshi is operating a federally regulated financial exchange, not a sports betting product that requires a Louisiana gambling license. The Advocate reported that Jovy Dedaj, Kalshi's head of litigation, posted on X on November 12, before the order was public. In that post, Dedaj said: "The operation of federally-regulated exchanges is the exclusive province of the federal government. Full stop."

A Coinbase spokesperson, in an emailed statement to The Block about the lawsuit, called it "another example of the fragmented enforcement Congress sought to prevent." The Coalition for Prediction Markets, which represents several defendants, according to The Block, called the lawsuit "troubling and unlawful." Both statements responded to the suit, not to the later restraining order.

The United States and the CFTC File a Federal Lawsuit in Arkansas

The same day, the United States and the CFTC sued the State of Arkansas and Attorney General Tim Griffin in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, No. 4:26-cv-01255-BSM, assigned to Judge Brian Stacy Miller. The 34-page complaint, dated November 10 and filed November 12, is on the public docket. It brings a single Supremacy Clause count and alleges that the event contracts Arkansas has targeted are "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act, that the exchanges offering them, including the platform Kalshi, are CFTC-regulated designated contract markets, and that the state's efforts "intrude on the exclusive federal scheme Congress designed to oversee United States commodity derivatives markets." Those are allegations, and the court hasn't ruled. As of the November 12 docket, the only entries were the complaint and a civil cover sheet. The prayer for relief asks for a declaration of preemption and for a preliminary and permanent injunction against investigating CFTC-regulated entities "and their affiliates and partners," or enforcing Arkansas law as applied to transactions on those exchanges. That request isn't a standalone motion, and no separate motion or ruling appears on the docket.

The complaint points to Arkansas v. KalshiEX LLC, et al., No. 32CV-26-717, filed November 4 in Independence County against Kalshi, Inc. and KalshiEX LLC, and describes that case as seeking restitution and civil penalties. Arkansas's own news release says the relief it is seeking includes restitution, penalties, taxes, and injunctive relief. Courts have already split on related preemption questions, including the Novig decision discussed below.

How the Louisiana Order Fits a Wider Fight Over Sports Event Contracts

Ludlow Exchange, LLC, doing business as Novig, is among the companies named in the Tangipahoa Parish petition. On November 10, Judge Colleen McMahon of the Southern District of New York denied Novig's motion for a preliminary injunction, concluding at that stage that its sports event contracts are not "swaps" under the Commodity Exchange Act, so New York could regulate them under its gambling laws. That was a preliminary ruling, and it doesn't bind a Louisiana court.

The fight has also reached tribal land in California. On November 4, 2026, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction in Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi Inc., No. 3:25-cv-06162-JSC, barring Kalshi Inc. and KalshiEX from offering sports contracts on the plaintiff tribes' Indian lands and directing a status report within 21 days. It doesn't, by its terms, bar Kalshi from offering sports contracts elsewhere in California.

The Louisiana order requires the named defendants to geofence the state. On November 5, the CFTC issued an interpretation of the impartial-access requirements for designated contract markets. In the accompanying press release, the Commission said those markets "must cease domestic geographic restrictions that violate the Impartial Access Requirements within 30 days, or else submit to the Division of Market Oversight an explanation for why such compliance is not feasible." The interpretation, published at 91 Fed. Reg. 72407, takes the view that geographic access restrictions are inconsistent with the Commodity Exchange Act and Commission rules. Both directives are now in the record, and they pull in different directions.

We covered Utah's criminal charges against KalshiEX and its founders in an earlier post. Other states have taken legal action too, and platforms have sued state officials in return. We're not trying to tally those cases, because the counts in public reporting don't agree. A federal designation or a pending federal case hasn't, at least in this Louisiana court, stopped a state judge from entering short-term relief. For now, CFTC-designated exchanges face a federal regulator telling them to stop domestic geographic restrictions, or explain why they can't, and a state court ordering them to geofence Louisiana. How they handle that over the next 30 days is the thing to watch.

Contact Us Now

Cogent Law's Sports Law team works with athletes, sports organizations and founders, and our FinTech, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency team works with trading platforms and digital asset companies. Sasha Hodder advises crypto and fintech companies on prediction-market and sports-betting interfaces with state and federal rules. To discuss how these cases may affect your business, contact Cogent Law or call 202-644-8880.

Key Takeaways

• A hearing on the state's motion for longer-term injunctive relief is set for November 30, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.
• A federal designation or a pending federal case hasn't, at least in this Louisiana court, stopped a state judge from entering short-term relief.
• Cogent Law's Sports Law team works with athletes, sports organizations and founders, and our FinTech, Blockchain & Cryptocurrency team works with trading platforms and digital asset companies.
• Review the primary source from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill (X) for the full record before making any decisions.
• Speak with Cogent Law to discuss how this development may affect your business.

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