---
title: "DOJ and CFTC sue Arkansas over Kalshi as Robinhood's $173 million event-contract line passes crypto"
description: "Washington entered the state gambling war on Kalshi's side days before a November 30 Louisiana hearing. For Robinhood, the fight decides whether its fastest-rising revenue line, $173 million last quarter, is a federally protected derivatives business or a state-by-state gamble."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Policy & Labor"
published: 2026-11-14T17:23:19.045Z
modified: 2026-11-14T17:23:19.045Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/doj-and-cftc-sue-arkansas-over-kalshi-as-robinhood-s-173-million-event-contract-line-passes-crypto
language: en
keywords: "Prediction Markets, Kalshi, Robinhood, CFTC, Regulation"
---

# DOJ and CFTC sue Arkansas over Kalshi as Robinhood's $173 million event-contract line passes crypto

> Washington entered the state gambling war on Kalshi's side days before a November 30 Louisiana hearing. For Robinhood, the fight decides whether its fastest-rising revenue line, $173 million last quarter, is a federally protected derivatives business or a state-by-state gamble.

## The federal government picked a side

The Justice Department and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, asking a judge to stop the state from enforcing its gambling laws against [Kalshi](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/kalshi), the prediction market platform [1]. The suit argues that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the CFTC exclusive authority over the event contracts Kalshi lists, and it seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions [1].

Arkansas opened the exchange: Griffin sued Kalshi on November 4 as an illegal gambling platform, and the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act carries per-violation penalties that [the federal complaint](https://defirate.com/news/cftc-sues-arkansas-block-kalshi-crackdown-shield-prediction/) estimates could reach the hundreds of millions of dollars [2]. Arkansas is now the 11th state the CFTC has sued, with Judge Brian S [3]. Miller assigned and no ruling yet [3].

Washington defending prediction markets rather than studying them is new. "The CFTC will continue to defend its sole jurisdiction over these federally regulated markets as granted by Congress," Chairman Michael Selig said [3].

## Louisiana blocked the contracts first and will hear arguments later

The same Thursday, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill sued Kalshi, Polymarket, [Robinhood](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/robinhood) and [Coinbase](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/coinbase), and a Tangipahoa Parish judge issued [a restraining order](https://www.nola.com/news/a-judge-ordered-kalshi-polymarket-other-prediction-markets-to-halt-in-louisiana-what-s-next/article_3160e6ea-304f-445e-8ec0-27868bbbbe7b.html) hours later requiring the companies to halt event contracts for Louisiana residents and to geofence the state [1][4]. Robinhood halted contracts in Louisiana that day [4].

[A hearing on a preliminary injunction is set for November 30](https://theinference.org/article/robinhood-s-173-million-event-contracts-and-kalshi-face-a-nov-30-hearing-after-a-louisiana-judge-s-ban) at 9 a.m. [5]. Attorney Daniel Wallach, who follows these cases, counts state attorneys general that sue first in state court at 100% in winning preliminary relief, and credits Murrill's all-at-once filing with avoiding the whack-a-mole problem [4]. The counterweight: the CFTC's camp has won preliminary injunctions on the federal side in Arizona, Illinois and Minnesota [3], and the federal preemption cases take a year or longer to decide [4].

## The line at stake is Robinhood's fastest riser

Event-contract revenue reached $173 million in the September quarter, more than six times the year-earlier amount, and passed crypto transaction revenue, which fell 55% to $120 million [6]. October brought 5.9 billion contracts, up 136% year over year, about 190 million a day, while crypto volume fell 48% from October 2025 to $17 billion [6]. The chart below shows the handoff; options remain the largest category at $399 million [6]. Kalshi is private, so Robinhood, the listed broker routing customers into these markets, is where the outcome prices [7].

*Chart: **Event contracts passed crypto in Robinhood's Q3 revenue mix** Column chart of Robinhood's Q3 2026 transaction revenue by category: options $399 million, event contracts $173 million, equities $121 million, crypto $120 million, with event contracts highlighted.*

*Robinhood transaction-based revenue by category in the quarter ended September 30, 2026, in millions of dollars. Event contracts at $173 million passed crypto at $120 million, behind options at $399 million. Sources: crypto.news (6); Robinhood quarterly revenue from its SEC filings (7). [6][7]*

*Chart: **Robinhood's revenue growth cooled to 11.8%, the weakest of the last ten quarters** Line chart of Robinhood total revenue growth by quarter, Q2 2024 to Q3 2026: 40.3%, 36.4%, 115.3%, 50%, 45%, 100%, 26.5%, 15.1%, 32.3% and 11.8%, the lowest of the ten quarters.*

*Robinhood total revenue, year-over-year change, Q2 2024 to Q3 2026, in percent. Revenue grew 11.8% in the September quarter, its weakest quarter of the ten, which makes the event-contract line the fastest-compounding disclosed category. Source: Robinhood quarterly figures from its SEC filings (8). [8]*

## Two dates now price the product

If preemption holds, the second-largest disclosed transaction category is shielded nationally and free to keep compounding. If state gambling definitions win, [the category caps out wherever states win](https://theinference.org/article/robinhood-s-173-million-event-contract-line-bigger-than-equities-is-being-shut-off-state-by-state). Watch November 30 in Louisiana, and Judge Miller's docket in Little Rock [3][5]. The federal government has bought Kalshi a real defense; the states' unbroken record in their own courts says customers there may not feel it yet [4].

## Takeaway

Event contracts are Robinhood's second-biggest transaction line at $173 million a quarter, and Washington has now put the federal government's own lawyers behind Kalshi's preemption defense. Louisiana has already cut the product off for its residents, and a November 30 hearing will show whether the federal suit buys the line any time.

## Sources

1. [Yahoo Finance, DOJ, CFTC Sue Arkansas to Protect Kalshi's Prediction Markets, 13 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/options/articles/doj-cftc-sue-arkansas-protect-153300260.html)
2. [DeFi Rate, CFTC Sues Arkansas to Block Kalshi Crackdown and Shield Prediction Markets, 13 November 2026](https://defirate.com/news/cftc-sues-arkansas-block-kalshi-crackdown-shield-prediction/)
3. [Courthouse News Service, Arkansas becomes 11th state sued by CFTC in prediction market fight, 13 November 2026](https://www.courthousenews.com/arkansas-becomes-11th-state-sued-by-cftc-in-prediction-market-fight/)
4. [NOLA.com (The Advocate), A judge ordered Kalshi, Polymarket, other prediction markets to halt in Louisiana. What's next?, 14 November 2026](https://www.nola.com/news/a-judge-ordered-kalshi-polymarket-other-prediction-markets-to-halt-in-louisiana-what-s-next/article_3160e6ea-304f-445e-8ec0-27868bbbbe7b.html)
5. [Crypto Briefing, Louisiana judge orders sweeping restraining order against Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase, and other prediction market operators, 13 November 2026](https://cryptobriefing.com/louisiana-gambling-ban-prediction-markets/)
6. [crypto.news, Robinhood crypto volume falls 21% as event contracts hit 5.9B, 14 November 2026](https://crypto.news/robinhood-crypto-volume-october-2026/)
7. [Robinhood quarterly revenue and net income from its SEC filings, retrieved 14 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001783879)
8. [Robinhood, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 14 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001783879)


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DOJ and CFTC sue Arkansas over Kalshi as Robinhood's $173 million event-contract line passes crypto — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/doj-and-cftc-sue-arkansas-over-kalshi-as-robinhood-s-173-million-event-contract-line-passes-crypto