Federal court denies CFTC bid to block Wisconsin sports contracts crackdown

A federal court rejected the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s request for a preliminary injunction against Wisconsin, allowing the state to keep enforcing its gambling laws against prediction market platforms including Kalshi, Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood and Coinbase over sports event contracts. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach denied the request on July 29, 2026, and also rejected motions by Kalshi and Crypto.com to intervene. He found the CFTC had not shown a likelihood of success on the merits or irreparable harm, and said federal registration does not automatically shield platforms from state gambling laws. The judge also concluded that the Commodity Exchange Act does not automatically preempt Wisconsin’s gambling rules and indicated that the plain language of the state’s statutes could cover sports-related event contracts. The ruling intensifies a growing jurisdictional fight over whether contracts tied to sports outcomes are federally regulated financial products or effectively sports bets under state law. It also adds to an increasingly split legal landscape, with the 3rd Circuit in New Jersey backing Kalshi’s preemption argument while Wisconsin now points the dispute toward state court and a likely appeal to the 7th Circuit.