- Kalshi co-founder Launa Lopes Lara wrote a letter to the CFTC indicating that Kalshi intends to stay out of casino gaming and remain solely in prediction markets.
- This comes after Kalshi won a legal dispute in the state of New Jersey over whether or not the prediction market should follow the same laws as traditional sports betting platforms.
NEW YORK – In a 31-page letter to the CFTC, Kalshi co-founder Launa Lopes Lara made it clear that Kalshi is unlikely to offer casino-style games like blackjack any time soon.
The letter was written as a response to an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on prediction markets by the CFTC, to which Lara wanted to make a clear distinction where Kalshi differs from traditional casino-style wagers.
“The right line for the Commission to draw now is to interpret ‘gaming’ to refer to the operation of games of chance, like casino games, lotteries, slot machines, and similar activities whose outcomes are determined solely and purely by chance or by the structure of the game itself,” writes Lara. “Real-world competitions—sports competitions, award ceremonies, scientific prizes, electoral contests, and other events determined by skill, judgment, performance, and other factors—are distinct.”
Based on these comments alone, it is apparent that legal blackjack games will almost certainly never be added to Kalshi, unless they decide to create a separate platform for casino gaming.
Kalshi has dealt with legal battles all over the country due to conflicting laws for online gambling and distinctions between traditional sports betting and prediction markets. The prediction market platform recently won their case in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals against New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, marking a massive triumph for the company.
Though it seems that Kalshi will continue to remain solely in the realm of prediction markets, there are plenty of options to play legal blackjack at mobile sites for players who wish to play blackjack at home.