The Gambling Wire: Utah Sues Kalshi as Flutter Plans 1,400 Job Cuts

Utah has become the latest state to request that Kalshi geofence its borders, seeking to recover up to $61.2 million in fees it allegedly collected.

Utah has sued Kalshi in state court, seeking to block the prediction market platform and recover millions in alleged illegal gambling proceeds. The lawsuit arrived more than two months after the state secured a favorable court ruling rejecting Kalshi’s argument that federal law prevents Utah from enforcing its gambling restrictions.

Elsewhere, Flutter is preparing to lay off up to 1,400 employees in the U.K. and Ireland, New Jersey has become the first state to introduce mandatory data-driven responsible gaming requirements, and a Wisconsin radio host has challenged election betting restrictions.

The Big Story: Utah Sues Kalshi, Seeks to Block Prediction Markets and Recover Millions

Utah Attorney General Derek Brown has filed a 63-page lawsuit against Kalshi and two Susquehanna market maker firms.

The state seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions blocking Kalshi’s sports, elections, politics, culture and mentions-based contracts in Utah, enforced through a third-party geolocation provider. If successful, Utah would join Nevada, Michigan and Washington, where court orders have forced Kalshi to restrict certain event contracts.

Utah also seeks restitution, damages and disgorgement of profits, alongside public nuisance and civil conspiracy claims.

The complaint likens Kalshi to “the manager of a back-alley gambling den (or cardroom)” for facilitating wagers and collecting a percentage of bets. It also compares the market makers to professional poker players taking bets at the table.

Kalshi runs an online casino in Utah and calls it a prediction market. That violates Utah law,” Brown said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Kalshi had 32,940 accounts with Utah addresses as of February 2026. The state estimates that the platform has collected between $30.6 million and $61.2 million in fees from those accounts, alongside approximately $5.5 million in estimated retail bettor losses.

The lawsuit follows an August federal court victory for Utah when U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby issued the first final merits judgment in the growing wave of state litigation against prediction markets. He ruled that the Commodity Exchange Act does not preempt Utah’s gambling laws.

Kalshi appealed to the Tenth Circuit, which denied its request for an emergency injunction in September. The broader appeal remains pending. The prediction market operator will likely move the latest suit to federal court.

The Daily Wire

Flutter Plans Up to 1,400 Job Cuts Following UK Tax Increases

Flutter’s turbulent year continues as the company has announced a restructuring of its U.K. and Ireland business that could result in up to 1,400 layoffs.

The proposed cuts will affect employees in Leeds and Dublin, as well as staff in Portugal and Romania. The company expects restructuring costs of $80 million to $90 million in the fourth quarter. The move follows the U.K.’s increase of online gaming tax from 21% to 40% in April 2026, with sports betting duties set to rise from 15% to 25% in April 2027.

Flutter UK and Ireland CEO Kevin Harrington said the company could not fully absorb the increases without reducing its fixed cost base. Flutter employs approximately 9,000 people in its U.K. and Ireland division.

The move comes just weeks after new CEO Dan Taylor took over from Peter Jackson. This year has been a year of change and rising challenges for the company, with FanDuel CEO Amy Howe leaving in May, prediction-market-related challenges in the U.S., and Brazil’s ban on online gambling.

New Jersey Makes Data-Driven Responsible Gaming Requirements Mandatory

New Jersey has become the first state to introduce mandatory, data-driven responsible gaming requirements for online gambling operators, according to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE).

According to officials, all operators already employ responsible gaming staff and abide by similar standards, but the new requirements make those practices mandatory and set clear rules.

The state also announced free access to RecoverMe, a cognitive behavioral therapy app for residents experiencing gambling problems.

Officials also acknowledged recent reports of aggressive marketing tactics targeting vulnerable gamblers and said the new requirements strengthen state regulations to ensure they protect consumers “from unscrupulous operators.”

Separately, the DGE issued $98,350 in civil penalties against three sportsbooks. TheScore received a $78,000 fine for unauthorized wagers, DraftKings was fined $14,350 for self-exclusion violations, and Fanatics received a $6,000 penalty related to sportsbook odds.

Earlier this month, the regulator also fined BetMGM, bet365 and FanDuel for similar consumer protection failures.

Wisconsin Voter Sues Election Officials Over Prediction Market Restrictions

A Wisconsin radio host has sued state officials, including Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) members, after the WEC issued a July warning that residents who wager on elections through platforms such as Kalshi or Polymarket could lose their voting eligibility and potentially face felony prosecution under state law.

Joseph Giganti Sr., host of The Regular Joe Show, says he intends to purchase election contracts on Polymarket US involving Wisconsin’s November gubernatorial and congressional elections.

He argues that disqualifying him for trading on Polymarket would violate his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction before the Nov. 3 election, allowing him to trade election contracts without forfeiting his vote.

FanDuel Cancels Zoo VIP Event Following Regulatory Guidance

FanDuel has canceled its planned VIP event at the Philadelphia Zoo following criticism over offering family-oriented rewards to high-value gamblers.

The sportsbook had invited VIP customers and up to three family members to attend the zoo’s Oct. 24 Halloween festivities, with complimentary admission, parking and food. The invitation drew criticism from addiction experts and Pennsylvania lawmakers, while the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said it would review the arrangement.

In an email obtained by The Philadelphia Inquirer, FanDuel told customers the event was canceled “following guidance from our regulators.”

State Rep. Tarik Khan told the Inquirer that he plans to introduce legislation to ban online gambling operators from offering VIP programs or similar loyalty rewards. A state legislative commission recommended similar restrictions earlier this year.

The cancellation follows growing scrutiny of sportsbook VIP programs, including calls from federal lawmakers for FanDuel to discontinue its rewards program.

Premier League Gambling Shirt Ban Had Limited Impact, Study Finds

The Premier League’s ban on front-of-shirt gambling sponsors has not significantly reduced overall marketing exposure, according to a new University of Bristol report. Researchers recorded 15,571 gambling marketing messages during the opening weekend of the 2026/27 Premier League season across televised matches, sports news, radio and social media.

They estimated that the ban on gambling logos from the front of the jerseys was associated with a 10.5% reduction in live-match gambling messages. However, the overall number of messages across monitored channels remained 41.6% higher than in 2023.

As several clubs shifted gambling branding to shirt sleeves and training kits, messages from those placements increased by 363% compared with previous years. Pitchside advertising, meanwhile, accounted for 72% of gambling messages during live matches.

According to the study, the restrictions have only shifted where gambling advertising appears rather than reducing exposure. The researchers recommended stronger legislation, including a comprehensive ban on gambling marketing during sporting events.

Massachusetts Reports 4% Increase in Gaming Revenue for September

Massachusetts generated $153.88 million in combined gaming revenue in September 2026, up 4% from $148.03 million a year earlier, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Sportsbooks reported $71.19 million in taxable revenue, a 36% increase from $52.34 million in September 2025. However, handle declined 3.4% to $772.92 million.

Meanwhile, the state’s three casinos generated $82.69 million in gross gaming revenue, down 13.6% from September 2025. Encore Boston Harbor accounted for most of the decline. Revenue fell 22.1% to $46.06 million amid an ongoing strike involving more than 1,300 workers.

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