9th Circuit Rules Against Kalshi, Robinhood and Crypto.com

Updated October 4, 2026 with the Supreme Court petitions filed since the ruling.

Nevada’s Gaming Control Board won a unanimous appeal against Kalshi in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516. Judge R. Nelson wrote the opinion, Judge Lee concurred, and Judge Bade completed the panel. Two companion appeals were decided the same day: Robinhood Derivatives LLC v. Dreitzer, No. 25-7831, and No. 25-7187, brought by North American Derivatives Exchange, the CFTC-registered exchange that does business as Crypto.com | Derivatives North America.

What the Ninth Circuit held

The panel affirmed the district court’s decision to dissolve Kalshi’s preliminary injunction. Without that injunction, Nevada was free to enforce its gaming laws against Kalshi’s sports contracts.

The court’s reasoning had two parts:

1. Not swaps. The Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over swaps traded on registered exchanges. The panel held that Kalshi’s sports event contracts are not swaps, because in substance they are sports bets.
2. No preemption. Federal law does not displace Nevada’s gaming rules for these contracts, whether under express, conflict or field preemption.

The panel sent part of the case back to the district court on the separate question of election contracts. Robinhood and Crypto.com’s exchange also lost; the Crypto.com decision was an unpublished memorandum, according to the Supreme Court docket for its petition.

The CFTC had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in February 2026 arguing that it has exclusive jurisdiction. The panel did not accept that position.

Why it matters

Until this ruling, the Third Circuit’s April 6, 2026 decision for Kalshi in New Jersey stood alone at the appellate level. The Ninth Circuit read the same statute the other way, opening a circuit split. A month later the Sixth Circuit followed the Ninth (our coverage).

The Ninth Circuit covers nine states, so the published Assad opinion binds federal courts in Arizona, California, Washington and others where prediction-market disputes are active. On September 16, 2026, a separate Ninth Circuit panel favored California tribes that argued Kalshi’s sports contracts are unauthorized Class III gaming under federal Indian gaming law, according to the Vultax docket tracker; we have not reviewed that decision ourselves.

Who is affected in Nevada

Nevada is among the most restricted states for prediction markets. As of October 4, 2026:

• Kalshi sports, election and entertainment contracts are not available in Nevada, according to a CBS Sports state tracker. The Gaming Control Board separately won a state-court injunction against Kalshi in April 2026, obtained a geofencing order in May and asked the court to hold Kalshi in contempt in June.
• Robinhood says on its help center that sports event contracts are unavailable in Nevada.
• Coinbase excludes Nevada entirely, according to its help center. Press reports say Polymarket US is also unavailable there; Polymarket US’s own documentation does not publish a state list.

Non-sports contracts on economics or finance may still be offered by some platforms. The in-app location check is the final word on what you can trade. Our legal tracker shows each state’s status and the date we last checked it.

What happened next

Robinhood filed a petition for certiorari on September 10, 2026 (No. 26-338). Crypto.com’s exchange followed on September 11 (No. 26-344). Nevada’s responses are due October 14 and October 15, 2026. New Jersey had already petitioned from its Third Circuit loss (No. 26-299). We break down all three in our Supreme Court explainer.

As of October 4, 2026, we have not confirmed whether Kalshi has filed its own petition or sought rehearing from this ruling. For state availability and fees, see our Kalshi review and Robinhood review.