KalshiEX LLC v. Bird

Overview

Kalshi filed a pre-emptive federal suit (March 2026) against Attorney General Brenna Bird and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (plus five commissioners), seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction as the state weighed regulating prediction markets. After a hearing on August 7, Judge Stephen H. Locher denied the preliminary injunction on September 8, 2026. He held Kalshi unlikely to succeed on express preemption: the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction reaches swaps and futures, and the definition of “swap,” read as a whole, is about financial risk and does not clearly take in sports outcomes — and Congress would have had to be clear to displace state gambling law. Independently, he found no irreparable harm, calling Kalshi’s filings “heavy on hyperbole.”

Kalshi appealed a week later. The Eighth Circuit docketed it on September 17 as No. 26-2874, the first time the preemption question has reached that circuit; Kalshi’s opening brief is due November 6, 2026. In the district court the defendants’ response to the complaint is due November 9.

Changes

Logged September 22, 2026

• FilingSeptember 17, 2026

  Kalshi’s Iowa appeal was docketed in the Eighth Circuit as No. 26-2874 — the first time that circuit has the preemption question. Kalshi’s opening brief is due November 6, 2026.

  Eighth Circuit briefing schedule (Doc. 62)

• RulingSeptember 8, 2026

  Judge Locher denied Kalshi’s injunction against Iowa: express preemption is unlikely because “swap” does not clearly reach sports outcomes, and Kalshi showed no irreparable harm.

  Order denying preliminary injunction (Doc. 57)

Timeline

What's next: Eighth Circuit No. 26-2874: the hearing transcript is due October 27 and Kalshi’s opening brief November 6, 2026, with Iowa’s brief thirty days after that. Nothing bars Iowa from enforcing in the meantime. November 6, 2026: Kalshi’s opening brief due (8th Cir. No. 26-2874)

Parties