Case 1:25-cv-14723 Document 10-1 Filed 08/19/25 Page 27 of 34 PageID: 99
these same event contracts. See Crosby v. Nat. Foreign Trade Council , 530 U.S. 363, 380
(2000) (conflict preemption exists where state law “undermines the congressional calibration of
force” and is “at odds with achievement of the federal decision about the right degree of pressure
to employ”); De la Cuesta , 458 U.S. at 153 (conflict preemption exists where “state law stands
as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of
Congress” (internal quotation marks omitted)). Here, the CFTC has determined to allow
Kalshi’s sports-related event contracts by taking no action in response to Kalshi’s self-
certification of those contracts, making them legal under federal law, but the Division has
threatened to preclude trading of those same event contracts by enforcing New Jersey gambling
laws. The conflict is clear. Further, it would be incorrect to say that there is no actual conflict
here because the contracts would only be precluded if they are offered by an entity that does not
have a New Jersey sports wagering license; Robinhood cannot seek a New Jersey sports
wagering license and comply with both federal and state regulations because it is not a casino or
race track, N.J.S.A. § 5:12A-11. See De la Cuesta , 458 U.S. at 153 (conflict preemption exists
where “compliance with both federal and state regulations is a physical impossibility”).
B. The CEA’s Preemption of State Gaming Laws as Applied to Sports-Related Event Contracts Includes Those Opened and Traded Through Robinhood’s Platform.
Given the broad, express preemptive language and clear Congressional intent, the Court’s
prior holding that the CEA likely preempts the state gaming laws that the Division threatened to
enforce against Kalshi in connection with sports-related event contracts was well founded. The
same result is compelled regardless of whether those event contract positions are opened and
traded through Kalshi’s interface (as was the case in KalshiEx , No. 25-cv-2152, 2025
WL 1218313) or through Robinhood’s (as is the case here).
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