Overview
Missouri’s first move. Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway sent cease-and-desist letters to six platforms — Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com and Robinhood dated September 16, 2026, and Novig and Underdog dated September 17 — calling their sports event contracts unlicensed sports wagering under Missouri law. Each letter gives the same choice: stop offering sports contracts to Missourians, or obtain a license from the Missouri Gaming Commission, pay the state’s 10% wagering tax and license fees of up to $500,000, and stop taking wagers from people under 21. Each asks for confirmation “within thirty days of the date of this letter” and says the State will take legal action otherwise. The letters rely on the recent run of platform losses, citing Assad, the Iowa denial of September 8, the Utah judgment and the New York ruling.
As the windows closed on October 16, 2026, two recipients sued: Novig in the Eastern District of Missouri and Crypto.com’s exchange in the Western District. Kalshi, whose deadline the Attorney General’s office had extended to October 30, followed on October 27 in the Eastern District, after Missouri’s Solicitor General said the State could not agree to hold off on enforcement. Missouri has not sued anyone, and no recipient has been reported to have geofenced Missouri. The Attorney General has said her office is open to settlement. (All six letters read on the Attorney General’s site. The Underdog letter is addressed to Underdog Sports Wagering, LLC, and the Crypto.com letter to Foris DAX, Inc., rather than the exchange entities that sue.)