The lawsuit, filed by Illinois residents Brett Josephson, Luis Cuevas, Tyrone Stuckey, and Temuujin Shaariibuu, alleges that Kalshi operates an illegal, unlicensed sports gambling market while falsely advertising its platform as a legal prediction market.
Plaintiffs seek compensation under the Illinois Gambling Recovery Act, the Illinois Sports Wagering Act, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Trade Practices Act, and the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, along with a claim for unjust enrichment.
Kalshi, a Delaware corporation headquartered in New York City, argued that the case should be moved to the Southern District of New York, where four similar class actions have been consolidated into a single complaint.
Judge Jenkins agreed that litigating the Illinois suit separately would waste scarce judicial resources by duplicating efforts already underway in New York, where the same core questions of fact and law are being resolved.
The court noted that while the New York action does not allege Illinois-specific consumer fraud claims, it relies on the same underlying facts and raises substantially similar issues, including whether Kalshi misled consumers into believing they were betting against other participants.
Although the convenience factors were largely neutral or slightly favored the plaintiffs' home forum, the interests of justice compelled transfer to prevent contradictory conclusions and allow for a quicker resolution in a less congested docket.
The case is now transferred to the Southern District of New York.