Overview
The Illinois Gaming Board issued cease-and-desist letters to prediction-market operators; the United States (through the DOJ) and the CFTC sued Illinois on April 2, 2026 — one of the first federal suits by the regulator against a state — to block enforcement and reaffirm the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. The complaint is captioned The United States of America; and Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. State of Illinois; JB Pritzker (Governor), Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Illinois Gaming Board officials. No final ruling has been identified; the case is pending. Kalshi has separately challenged an Illinois prediction-market tax. (Caption + docket confirmed against the CFTC complaint PDF: N.D. Ill. No. 1:26-cv-03659.)
Timeline
April 2026
CFTC and DOJ sue Illinois (with Arizona and Connecticut) to block state enforcement.
June 2026
Kalshi separately challenges an Illinois prediction-market tax.
What's next: The preliminary-injunction motion has been fully briefed since July 22, 2026 and is undecided before Judge Pacold, who holds all three Illinois cases.
Parties
Plaintiffs
- United States of America (Department of Justice)
- U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Defendants
- State of Illinois
- JB Pritzker (Governor)
- Kwame Raoul (Attorney General)
- Dionne R. Hayden (Chair, Illinois Gaming Board)
- Illinois Gaming Board members and administrator Marcus D. Fruchter
This page is informational, not legal advice. Nearly every entry in this tracker is a preliminary ruling under appeal. Always verify a platform's current, location-specific eligibility directly with the venue before relying on this page.