An undercover agent confirmed his Utah location before trading, giving prosecutors evidence to challenge Kalshi's claim to federal regulatory protection.
Utah filed 13 felony charges against Kalshi and named its two founders as co-defendants after an undercover agent placed $115 in sports bets.
The Oct. 28 criminal filing names KalshiEX, CEO Tarek Mansour and Chief Operating Officer Luana Lopes Lara, escalating a dispute over whether federally regulated prediction markets must comply with state gambling laws.
The prosecution follows an investigation in which a state agent placed 12 sports wagers totaling $114.87 on Kalshi between Sept. 13 and Sept. 26. The charges expose the company's founders to potential criminal penalties as federal regulators challenge Utah's authority to restrict the platform.
According to the filing, Special Agent Scott Eggerman created an undercover Kalshi account using a Utah residential address, phone number and locally issued debit card.
Before placing his first $10 wager on a Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game, Kalshi allegedly required Eggerman to confirm his location through its location services.
Eggerman confirmed he was in Utah, but the platform permitted the transaction and collected a 44-cent fee.
He subsequently placed 11 additional wagers involving football, baseball, soccer and hockey events, generating further transaction fees for Kalshi.
Prosecutors cited those transactions in bringing 12 third-degree felony counts of online gambling promotion, one second-degree felony count of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity and a misdemeanor gambling promotion charge.
The filing alleges that Kalshi collected revenue from unlawful gambling activity and reinvested the proceeds into its operations.
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