Louisiana Judge Grants TRO Barring 10 Prediction Market Apps the Day AG Sued

A Louisiana state court issued a temporary restraining order on Nov. 12 barring 10 prediction market operators from offering event contracts to anyone located in Louisiana, hours after Attorney General Liz Murrill filed the civil enforcement petition. The 21st Judicial District Court in Tangipahoa Parish granted the TRO ex parte, and it forbids the named platforms from operating, listing, accepting, clearing, settling, brokering, making a market in, or otherwise facilitating any “event contract” with Louisiana residents without a valid license.

What the order covers and which firms are named

The order defines an "event contract" as “any sum of money or representation of value risked by a person on an occurrence associated with an event for which the outcome is uncertain.” The defendants enjoined in the Nov. 12 order are Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, Crypto.com, Coinbase, Novig, Underdog, Gemini Titan, ForecastEx and ProphetX. The TRO binds each defendant’s “principals, officers, agents, employees, counsel, and all persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual knowledge of this Order by personal service or otherwise.”

The injunction explicitly covers contracts related to sports, elections, awards events and “all others considered sports wagering under La. R.S. 27.” The order requires the named operators to geofence Louisiana and prohibits them from representing that their contracts are “lawful, licensed, or authorized in Louisiana,” tying that prohibition to the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.

“It is the first TRO a state has won against prediction market operators on the day it sued,” legal analyst Daniel Wallach wrote in a post announcing the court order.

Legal grounds and state law mechanics

The petition invoked HB 883, a law signed by Governor Jeff Landry that became effective on Aug. 1. HB 883 lets courts enjoin unlicensed online gambling, authorises website takedowns and bank-account freezes, and reaches payment processors as well as platform and geolocation providers. The TRO cites the law’s provision that a violation “shall conclusively be determined irreparable harm,” which removes the usual proof-of-harm requirement for emergency relief. The state did not require a bond because it is the plaintiff, and the order says no prior notice was necessary because defendants “immediately received constructive notice of the Petition through media and other outlets.” The petition also bypassed HB 883’s 10-day cease-and-desist step.

The civil enforcement petition, filed “by and through its Attorney General Liz Murrill,” seeks temporary restraining relief, a preliminary injunction, civil penalties, restitution and disgorgement. The petition lists examples of markets it considers wagers, including Kalshi markets on Senate control, Donald Trump’s next press secretary, the Oscar for Best Picture, the Fed funds rate, Trump mention markets and college football conference winners.

Federal challenges and parallel proceedings

Kalshi sued Attorney General Murrill pre-emptively in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on Oct. 23. Polymarket US filed its federal challenge on Oct. 27. Both federal complaints raise preemption and Commerce Clause arguments. As of Nov. 12 no federal judge had ruled in those cases, leaving the state free to pursue emergency relief in state court.

On the same day the state filed its petition and the state court issued the TRO, Kalshi asked U.S. District Judge Jerry Edwards Jr. for its own TRO. Kalshi’s motion stated:

“Based on recent discussions with representatives of the state of Louisiana, Kalshi believes that the State will initiate an action against Kalshi in state court,” and cited “imminent criminal, administrative, and forfeiture exposure.”

Kalshi and other operators argue their event contracts are financial derivatives under the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction. In its October complaint Kalshi also argued that the gambling-by-computer statute exempts transactions “occurring on a stock or commodities exchange, brokerage house, or similar entity.”

Scope, exclusions and next steps

The petition names 31 entities in total, extending beyond exchanges to clearinghouses, futures commission merchants and parent companies. The TRO could reach a market maker that continues supplying liquidity to Louisiana users after receiving notice, the petition warns.

Missing from the defendants list are sportsbooks that run their own prediction markets. FanDuel, DraftKings and Fanatics hold Louisiana sports wagering licences; FanDuel’s availability map lists only its sportsbook in Louisiana, not FanDuel Predicts. A December 2025 Louisiana Gaming Control Board advisory told sportsbook licensees that illegal sports wagering “may occur whether the contract is listed on an exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (‘CFTC’) or elsewhere,” and warned licensees that their suitability was at stake. The Advocate reported in March that licensed operators assured the state they would not offer prediction markets.

The TRO expires after 10 days unless the court extends it or the defendants consent to a longer period. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 30. The state’s petition seeks remedies that could expose operators to financial liability for past transactions as well as restrictions on future operations.

Wider context

Louisiana is the 13th state to bring a civil enforcement action against prediction market operators, following Massachusetts, Nevada, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Kentucky, New York, Connecticut, Utah and Arkansas. The order arrives while the U.S. Supreme Court is considering New Jersey’s petition in the Kalshi sports-betting dispute, signalling parallel federal and state litigation that will help determine whether event contracts are gambling or regulated derivatives.