Arizona Judge Michael Liburdi has denied Kalshi’s motion for a preliminary injunction against state regulators such as Department of Gaming (ADG) Director Jackie Johnson, Chief Law Enforcement Officer Douglas Jensen and Attorney General Kristin Mayes.
Liburdi ruled the federal Anti-Injunction Act (AIA) prevents him and fellow court officials from issuing preliminary injunctive relief due to pending state court criminal proceedings.
The Arizona judge wrote: “The Court finds that the AIA applies and the preliminary injunction Kalshi requests does not fall within any exception to the application of the AIA. The Court is barred by statute from issuing the injunction, so it must deny Kalshi’s requests for preliminary relief.
“Although the basis for granting Kalshi preliminary injunctive relief would be largely identical to the basis for granting a permanent injunction, the federal government has not yet requested the preliminary relief that this Court is assessing. So the Court will not apply the exception here.”
The prediction markets operator had originally filed a lawsuit in Arizona on March 13, citing a “substantial risk” of enforcement action while naming Mayes, Johnson and Jensen.
Johnson and the ADG previously issued cease-and-desist letters to Kalshi and Crypto.com in May 2025, as well as warned operators currently authorized to conduct business in the state of engaging in prediction market activity during September.
On March 18, Mayes responded to Kalshi’s lawsuit by filing criminal charges against the operator, alleging it ran an illegal gambling business and unlawfully accepted wagers on elections.
"Kalshi may brand itself as a 'prediction market,' but what it's actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law,” Mayes said.
According to the filing, Kalshi accepted wagers on events including professional and collegiate sports, as well as trades on the 2028 Presidential election and multiple state political races.
The ADG unveiled its new Take Back the Game campaign on March 30 to promote the state’s self-exclusion program, allowing residents to exclude from commercial gaming activity, event wagering and DFS applications
