From NPR.

A federal judge in Ohio has ruled that prediction markets are evading the law, and that apps like Kalshi and Polymarket are no different than gambling.

Kalshi argues it should not be regulated like a gambling operation because it’s technically a type of “futures contract,” not a gambling site. But billions of dollars are spent every week on Kalshi, where people bet on who will win the latest season of "Survivor;" whether Trump will say “midnight hammer,” and how many times sports announcers will say the word “foul.” Nearly $6 billion was traded in the past week on Kalshi and Polymarket — up nearly 2,000% from last year.

In her ruling, Morrison wrote treating this as anything other than gambling is “absurd.” Kalshi says it plans to appeal.