A Nevada judge has denied the Nevada Gaming Control Board's (NGCB) request for an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately halt Coinbase's new prediction market offering. The court has scheduled a hearing for Coinbase to respond. The NGCB filed a civil enforcement action accusing Coinbase of offering unlicensed wagers on sports event contracts. Coinbase argues that the Commodity Exchange Act grants the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over swaps and event contracts traded on regulated exchanges. Coinbase has also filed a case in federal court seeking to block Nevada’s enforcement effort as a violation of federal law. This follows a similar case where a Nevada judge granted a TRO forcing Polymarket to suspend certain event markets in the state. Other states, like Tennessee, are also pushing back against prediction markets.
A Nevada judge has declined to grant regulators’ request for an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) to immediately halt Coinbase’s new prediction market offering. According to Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal, the court has instead set a hearing for next week so the exchange can respond. The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) filed a civil enforcement action accusing Coinbase of offering unlicensed wagers on sports event contracts and requested a TRO and preliminary injunction to block the products for Nevada residents.
Coinbase argues that Nevada’s requested order was broader than sports betting and would effectively bar it from offering any Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated “event contracts” in the state. The company also stated that there was no genuine claim of irreparable harm because Kalshi, the CFTC‑registered market whose contracts Coinbase lists, can continue to offer the same products directly to Nevada users while litigation proceeds.
Grewal said that Coinbase has now gone to federal court in Nevada as well, seeking to block the state’s enforcement effort as a violation of federal law, arguing that Congress gave CFTC exclusive jurisdiction over these listed contracts.
Coinbase contends that the Commodity Exchange Act grants the CFTC “exclusive jurisdiction” over swaps and event contracts traded on regulated exchanges, and that Nevada’s attempt to recharacterize those instruments as state regulated gambling is preempted by Congress’s derivatives framework.
The clash comes just days after a Nevada judge granted a 14‑day TRO forcing Polymarket to suspend certain event markets in the state. Nevada isn’t the only US state pushing back against prediction markets; Tennessee’s Sports Wagering Council ordered a group of platforms, including Kalshi and Polymarket, to halt sport event contracts for its residents. In December, Coinbase sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan, arguing that prediction markets listed on a CFTC-regulated venue fall under federal jurisdiction.
Key Takeaways:
- Nevada judge denies request to halt Coinbase prediction markets.
- Coinbase argues CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction.
- Coinbase challenges Nevada in federal court.
- Other states are also pushing back against prediction markets.