Federal injunction denied; on appeal (7th Cir., consolidated)7th Cir.CFTC v. State
Docket last checked September 27, 2026. Snapshot — not legal advice.
As of September 27, 2026, the legality of prediction markets in Wisconsin is unresolved — litigation is ongoing with no final ruling yet. Wisconsin status and cases →
Overview
The case where the federal government itself lost. The United States and the CFTC sued Wisconsin in April 2026 to establish that the Commodity Exchange Act preempts the state’s enforcement against prediction-market platforms. On July 28, 2026 Judge William C. Griesbach denied essentially everything before him in a single order — the federal plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, a motion to dismiss, a venue-transfer motion, two joinder motions and three separate motions to intervene. The three would-be intervenors, attributable from the docket, were North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. d/b/a Crypto.com (moved May 12), KalshiEX LLC (May 28) and the American Gaming Association (July 14).
Three appeals followed and the Seventh Circuit consolidated them: the United States and the CFTC (No. 26-2636, filed August 7), KalshiEX LLC (No. 26-2675, August 13) and the American Gaming Association (No. 26-2696, August 14). The court denied the government’s motion to expedite. Discovery in the district court is stayed pending the outcome.
This matters beyond Wisconsin. Every other entry on this tracker involves a platform or a state losing; here a federal preemption theory advanced by the United States was refused at the preliminary stage, and it is one of only two consolidated circuit appeals in the whole landscape — the other being the Sixth Circuit’s.
Changes
Logged September 27, 2026
Filing
All three appellants filed their Seventh Circuit opening briefs on time — the United States and the CFTC, Kalshi, and the American Gaming Association — and Paradigm Operations filed an amicus brief. Wisconsin’s brief is due October 21.
The United States and the CFTC sue Wisconsin in the Eastern District (No. 2:26-cv-00749, Judge Griesbach).
July 2026
The court denies the federal plaintiffs’ preliminary-injunction motion, a motion to dismiss, a venue transfer, two joinder motions and three motions to intervene.
August 2026
Three notices of appeal are filed — by the United States and the CFTC, by KalshiEX LLC, and by the American Gaming Association.
August 2026
Discovery is stayed pending the appeal; the Seventh Circuit consolidates Nos. 26-2636, 26-2675 and 26-2696 and denies the motion to expedite.
September 21, 2026
Opening briefs filed by the United States and the CFTC, by Kalshi, and by the American Gaming Association.
September 25, 2026
Paradigm Operations files an amicus brief.
What's next: Consolidated Seventh Circuit appeal (Nos. 26-2636, 26-2675 and 26-2696; motion to expedite denied). All three appellants filed opening briefs on September 21, 2026 — the United States and the CFTC, Kalshi, and the American Gaming Association — and Paradigm Operations filed an amicus brief on September 25. Wisconsin’s consolidated brief is due October 21, when the federal government may also answer Kalshi’s and the AGA’s briefs; replies are due November 12. October 21, 2026: Wisconsin’s consolidated brief due (7th Cir. No. 26-2636)
Parties
Plaintiffs
United States of America (Department of Justice)
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Defendants
State of Wisconsin
Anthony S. (Tony) Evers (Governor)
Joshua L. Kaul (Attorney General)
Wisconsin Division of Gaming
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.