Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the City Council filed individual lawsuits on Thursday against prediction market operators Kalshi and Polymarket, asserting that both platforms are operating as unlicensed sportsbooks in violation of the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance (CPO).
The complaints, submitted in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, claim that the two companies are deceiving customers about the legality of their products while offering bets on game winners, point spreads, point totals, and player propositions—bet categories typically associated with licensed sportsbooks.
Kalshi and Polymarket present these transactions as “event contracts” exchanged on a peer-to-peer basis rather than with odds set by the house, a distinction that the city disputes in its legal actions.
Additional defendants mentioned
The Kalshi lawsuit also targets Robinhood, Webull, and Coinbase, all of which provide sports event contracts through the Kalshi platform. The Polymarket lawsuit also extends to QCX, Blockratize, and QC Tech.
“These companies are operating sportsbooks without the required licenses and are banking on a new label to evade the law,” Mayor Scott declared. “Baltimore will not allow multibillion-dollar corporations to prioritize profits over people and endanger our communities with illegal gambling.”
The city is being represented by the Baltimore City Department of Law in addition to the legal firm DiCello Levitt.
Consumer protection allegations
Besides the licensing issue, the lawsuits maintain that Kalshi and Polymarket are promoting their platforms in ways that create a false impression of being lawfully regulated, while making gambling products easily accessible to consumers. The city’s announcement highlighted risks for “vulnerable populations,” including young adults and individuals showing signs of problem gambling.
“Kalshi and Polymarket cannot sidestep Baltimore’s consumer protection regulations by repackaging gambling as something different or asserting that federal regulation places them beyond the reach of our laws,” City Solicitor Ebony M. Thompson emphasized. “The city will continue to apply its consumer protection authority to halt deceptive and illegal conduct and hold companies responsible when they jeopardize our residents.”
“Allowing prediction market firms to circumvent gambling laws would establish a dangerous precedent that extends well beyond Baltimore,” added Adam Levitt, founding partner at DiCello Levitt. “These companies must not be permitted to exploit new terminology and technology to operate outside the regulations designed to safeguard consumers and communities.”
The city’s allegations focus on unfair, abusive, and deceptive trade practices under the CPO. Baltimore is seeking civil penalties, injunctive relief, restitution for affected consumers, profit disgorgement, and other available remedies under the ordinance.
Maryland’s licensing framework
According to state law, prospective sports betting operators must submit applications through the Maryland Lottery and Gaming eLicensing system, register with the Department of Assessments and Taxation, undergo a background check by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission, and pay required fees. Approved operators are also obligated to share 20% of taxable revenue with local government.
The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission had previously issued cease-and-desist notices to Kalshi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com in April 2025, directing them to stop offering sports event contracts in the state.
Kalshi responded by filing a suit in the US District Court for the District of Maryland, arguing that its contracts exclusively fall under the Commodity Exchange Act and are exempt from state sports wagering regulations.
In August 2025, Judge Adam Abelson denied Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction, stating that the company had not demonstrated a likelihood of success on its federal preemption claim.
Separately, Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Commission Secretary John Martin issued a memo last December warning licensed gaming operators against entering the prediction markets sector, cautioning that doing so could jeopardize their existing licenses.
Baltimore’s lawsuits against Kalshi and Polymarket follow a series of court decisions favoring state and local regulators over prediction market operators, including in New York, Wisconsin, and Utah, where platforms were denied injunctions that would have hindered gaming enforcement actions.