Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour has rejected criminal charges filed by Arizona authorities, calling them a “total overstep” and vowing to contest them in court. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the charges on Tuesday, alleging Kalshi operated an illegal gambling business without a license and offered unlawful election wagering.
Mansour accused Mayes of attempting to “subvert the judicial process” by filing charges ahead of a court decision in Kalshi’s own lawsuit against Arizona authorities. The company argues that the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) holds exclusive jurisdiction over its operations, not state regulators.
CFTC Chair Michael Selig backed that position, calling the prosecution “entirely inappropriate” in a Tuesday post. Arizona is among several states pursuing Kalshi over alleged unlicensed sports gambling, while an Ohio court recently denied a preliminary injunction in a related case.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
