Connecticut went after Kalshi first. Now the net is much wider, and on September 10 the state's Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) sent cease-and-desist orders to nine more prediction-market platforms, telling each one to stop offering sports event contracts to Connecticut residents right away.
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Some of the names are crypto-first: Coinbase, Crypto.com, Gemini and Polymarket. Two are retail brokerages, Robinhood and Webull, both bolting prediction trading onto existing investing apps. The remaining three are smaller, sports-focused players: Novig, ProphetX, and Underdog Predict. Kalshi isn't on the list, simply because the state is already fighting it in court.
What The Orders Require
The orders are blunt. Each platform must immediately "cease and desist advertising, offering, promoting, or otherwise making available" sports event contracts in the state, and DCP also directed that residents be allowed to withdraw any money still sitting on these platforms.
Ignoring it risks civil penalties under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, plus possible criminal penalties under the state's gaming statutes. Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli kept it short: "Our laws are clear: sports betting may only be offered by legal, licensed sportsbooks that adhere to our regulations and technical standards."
In Connecticut, that means DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics, operating through Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, and the Connecticut Lottery, respectively, for bettors 21 and older.
Subpoenas Go Well Beyond the Operators
Nearly 30 subpoenas went out with the orders. Nine went to gaming-licensed service providers, including Sportradar, Genius Sports, PayPal, Plaid and LexisNexis, and another 15 went to media outlets such as ESPN, NBC Connecticut and the Hartford Courant.
Apple and Google got them too, for their app stores and wallets, and so did Stripe. It’s reported that none of those recipients are investigation targets, but it's a clear sign Connecticut wants to see who advertises, processes payments for, and supplies data to these platforms.
The Kalshi Ruling Sets the Tone
This didn't come out of nowhere. On August 10, U.S. District Judge Vernon Oliver denied preliminary injunctions sought by Kalshi and Coinbase, ruling that sports event contracts aren't swaps and that federal commodities law doesn't override Connecticut's gambling rules.
"At bottom," the ruling said, "they are sports wagers." Attorney General William Tong sued Kalshi later that month. Anyone comparing platforms on a
list of prediction markets
will notice how many now face state action, not just here, with Missouri's attorney general targeting six platforms in the same stretch.
How the Companies Are Responding
Reactions have split. Novig, ProphetX, Gemini, and Webull have been talking with DCP about potentially halting the services in question, while Underdog went the other way and sued Connecticut in federal court in mid-September, arguing its CFTC-regulated exchange falls under exclusive federal jurisdiction.
Where This Leaves Connecticut Users
For now, the orders stand. Residents with balances on any of the nine can withdraw them, and with Underdog's lawsuit just filed and Kalshi's case still moving, the courts will likely decide how far Connecticut's reach actually extends.
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