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Kalshi’s New MLB Deals Face State Betting Lawsuits

Quick Glance at the Facts

• Kalshi announced multi-year brand partnerships with five MLB teams on August 25, 2026.
• Four of those five teams play in Massachusetts and California, two states where Kalshi’s sports-event contracts face lawsuits.
• The sponsorships do not change Kalshi’s legal status or player access to its sports-event contracts.

On Tuesday, August 25, 2026, Kalshi announced exclusive, multi-year brand partnerships with five Major League Baseball teams, according to its own announcement. This matters because four of those teams play in Massachusetts and California, where courts are weighing whether Kalshi’s sports-event contracts are illegal sports betting.

Kalshi’s New MLB Deals

Kalshi’s deal covers the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants. The partnerships cover in-stadium signage plus social, online, radio, and fan activations, and the Dodgers deal adds Kalshi-branded LED signage and naming rights to Dodger Stadium’s Gold Glove Bar. Kalshi did not disclose financial terms, but the company said its baseball-related trading volume is up 36 times year over year.

Kalshi is also not MLB’s official league-wide prediction market partner. That role went to Polymarket in March 2026, per the MLB’s official statement. Kalshi’s new deal is franchise-specific.

“The idea is that fans are already engaging with their favorite teams on Kalshi, so it only makes sense to extend that fandom to some of the most beloved baseball teams in America,” said Adam Barrick, Kalshi’s head of sports partnerships.

But even with massive trading volume driving the deal, the timing is awkward. Kalshi’s been in hot water with almost a dozen states over it’s sports trades. Officially, Kalshi is a Designated Contract Market overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It argues its contracts are financial derivatives under the federal Commodity Exchange Act that fall only under CFTC jurisdiction, not state gaming law. However, due to the nature of the “trades” multiple state governments claim that they constitute illegal, unregulated sports betting.

What Happens With the Court Fights

In Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell sued Kalshi in September 2025. A Massachusetts Superior Court judge then granted a preliminary injunction that would block Kalshi’s sports-event contracts without a Massachusetts Gaming Commission license, the state AG’s office said on January 20, 2026. A state appeals court paused that injunction pending an expedited appeal in February 2026 and it remains on hold as of August 2026. The state’s high court heard arguments in May 2026, and several justices sounded skeptical.

In California, three tribes, Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria, and Picayune Rancheria, sued Kalshi and Robinhood in July 2025 in federal court, claiming illegal sports betting, Legal Sports Report reported. A California court denied the tribes’ injunction request in November 2025. Attorney General Rob Bonta has not sued Kalshi but joined a coalition of 37 attorneys general in a June 12, 2026 amicus brief supporting Ohio’s right to enforce its gaming laws, his office said.

As of now, the deals with the MLB teams stands, but it adds another element to Kalshi’s already complex relationship with Massachusetts and California state governments.

How This Impacts Players

These sponsorships change nothing about your access to Kalshi. The MLB deals are marketing, and they do not change Kalshi’s legal status or whether players in Massachusetts or California can use its sports-event contracts. If you play in either state, watch the pending appeals, since a court ruling could change access.

GamblingNerd Take

These sponsorships buy Kalshi visibility, not legal cover. The Massachusetts and California cases will decide whether its sports-event contracts survive as CFTC-regulated derivatives, and a stadium logo does nothing to settle that. If you use Kalshi in either state, you might receive specific promos for MLB games. Still, we advise paying close attention to the ongoing legal battles, as they will set the standard for how prediction markets are treated in your state.