Robinhood Pushes Back Against Missouri’s Event Contract Opposition, Files Lawsuit
Robinhood has become the latest prediction market platform, after Kalshi , to have filed a lawsuit against Missouri in a bid to stop the state from interpreting and applying gaming laws to (sports) event contracts. Robinhood Pushes Back Against Missouri’s Attempt to Apply Gambling Laws The company has filed a complaint against the state of Missouri as well as Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway . In the complaint filed with the S District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri , the company is seeking a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction against the state. The measures in the complaint are designed to prevent the state from ending prediction market options with Missouri filing a cease-and-desist letter against companies on September 16, including Robinhood. In the letter, the state asked Robinhood to stop offering its sports event contracts, which the Missouri Gaming Commission has insisted are illegal because they are not licensed by the regulator. Robinhood’s arguments run on familiar lines. Sports event contracts are a derivative product, the argument goes, and as such they are regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and not subject to local gaming laws. Kalshi has already secured a temporary restraining order