Two of the six companies Missouri warned over sports event contracts have sued the state. Crypto.com’s exchange operator filed in the Western District on Friday, and Novig, through Ludlow Exchange, filed in the Eastern District.
Attorney General Catherine Hanaway sent cease-and-desist letters on 16 and 17 September. Each recipient had 30 days to stop offering the contracts to Missourians, or to get a licence and pay a 10 percent wagering tax.
Crypto.com argues the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction and overrides state gambling law. It also says a state licence is not a real option, because both direct mobile sports wagering licences are already awarded. Hanaway’s letter noted that users can trade from age 18, while the state’s betting age is 21.
Novig wants the status quo preserved while the 8th Circuit hears a Kalshi appeal from Iowa on the same question. Crypto.com adds a procedural point, that the attorney general addressed her letter to Foris DAX rather than to the exchange itself.
Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood and Underdog got the same letters. Court records reviewed by The Block showed no filings from any of them in Missouri as of Sunday. Kalshi’s talks with the attorney general’s office were described as ongoing on 2 October.
The appeals courts disagree. The 6th and 9th Circuits ruled against Kalshi, and the 3rd sided with it.
Missouri voters approved legal sports wagering in November 2024, so the state’s position is that the licensed route already exists.
Whether Missouri enforces anything before the 8th Circuit rules is the open question, and the attorney general’s office had not commented.
