Utah Charges Kalshi and Executives With 14 Counts

Utah prosecutors have charged Kalshi, chief executive Tarek Mansour and chief operating officer Luana Lopes Lara with 14 counts over alleged unlawful gambling promotion, adding a criminal case to the state’s dispute with the prediction-market company. The charges comprise 13 felonies and one misdemeanor; they are allegations, not findings of guilt. The complaint includes 12 counts of online gambling promotion, one count alleging a pattern of unlawful activity and one count of general gambling promotion. Mansour and Lopes Lara received summonses to appear in court rather than arrest warrants, according to court-related reports. Prosecutors say an undercover state investigator placed 12 sports wagers on Kalshi in September after confirming a location in Utah. The complaint alleges the wagers, which involved several sports, and fees collected by Kalshi support the gambling-promotion charges. The account of the transactions comes from Utah’s charging documents. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown argues that the company’s event contracts fall under the state’s gambling restrictions, even though Kalshi operates as a federally registered exchange. Kalshi rejected the prosecution,...