Prediction market operator Kalshi hits back at Nevada regulator over geofencing fine

Aug 15 (Reuters) – Prediction market operator Kalshi accused Nevada’s gaming regulator of violating federal law in a statement on Saturday after it sought daily penalties of $120,000 a day over the firm’s alleged failure to comply with a geofencing order.

• Board investigators successfully placed nine trades on Kalshi’s mobile application while connected to cellular networks in Nevada, a day after a court-ordered deadline for the company to have a complete geofencing solution in place, according to a court filing seen by Reuters.

• Kalshi in a statement said it hired GeoComply, a vendor licensed by Nevada’s gaming regulator at the state’s request, and that it kept the state updated throughout.

• Nevada investigators misrepresented their residences to Kalshi, violating federal law, and at least one circumvented the company’s own blocking measures, Kalshi’s lawyers said.

• A judge in the western U.S. state of Nevada in April issued a preliminary injunction barring Kalshi from offering such contracts in the state without obtaining a gaming license.

• The Nevada courts did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday outside normal business hours.

(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi and Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)