Kalshi Restricted Countries & Regulation

Kalshi bars event contract trading from 55 named jurisdictions, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and France. Court orders have also removed its sports markets from several US states.

The US exchange offers event contracts that pay a fixed amount if a stated event happens and nothing otherwise. Each contract's price reflects the probability traders assign to that outcome, as shown in Alpha Finance's live prediction market odds. On 7 May 2026, Kalshi reported annualised trading volume of $178 billion.

The full list of Kalshi restricted countries

Section VI of Kalshi's Member Agreement prohibits anyone domiciled in, organised in or located in 55 named jurisdictions from trading event contracts. Every user accepts this agreement at sign-up. The list below reflects the version on kalshi.com on 30 Sep 2026.

Any jurisdiction or territory under country-wide, territory-wide or regional US economic sanctions is also covered. Changes to US sanctions can therefore widen the restrictions before Kalshi updates its named list.

Eligibility depends on where a person is domiciled, where a company is organised and the user's physical location. The wording does not refer to citizenship. A French citizen living in a permitted country falls outside the clause, while a visitor physically in France falls within it.

The agreement states that this restriction applies only to event contract trading. It does not, by itself, prohibit membership or non-trading access. Kalshi retains sole discretion to grant, deny or revoke access for anyone.

How the Kalshi restricted list has changed

An exchange notice dated 23 Oct 2025 named 47 restricted jurisdictions. Eight have since been added: Hungary, India, Ireland, New Zealand, the People's Republic of China, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. The Ukraine entry expanded from five named regions to the whole country.

Users confirm their country of residence at sign-up, according to Kalshi's page on trading from outside the United States. The page directs them to the Member Agreement for eligibility.

How Kalshi verifies age, identity and location

Users must be at least 18 and pass identity checks to open a Kalshi account. Applicants provide personal details and may need to submit an identity document, according to Kalshi's sign-up guide. Each user is responsible for ensuring that using the exchange is lawful where they are.

Kalshi says US law and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rules require it to verify every account holder and retain records. The CFTC is the US derivatives regulator. Under the Member Agreement, Kalshi can also periodically re-check a member's statements.

A Washington state court order required Kalshi to block trading by residency and IP address by 19 Aug 2026. An IP address is the number that identifies an internet connection. According to the Washington Attorney General's office, a multi-source geofence had to follow by 2 Sep 2026. A geofence checks a device's physical position to block activity within a set boundary.

What a VPN does to Kalshi eligibility

A virtual private network (VPN) makes an internet connection appear to originate elsewhere. It changes neither domicile nor physical location, the measures used in Kalshi's agreement. With every order, users repeat their promise to be outside a restricted jurisdiction. Placing an order through a VPN from a restricted place therefore breaches the agreement.

A breach can lead Kalshi to suspend services or end the agreement. In Nevada, gaming regulator investigators were still able to trade from inside the state despite Kalshi's IP-based block, the regulator told a state court. Kalshi subsequently agreed to install a third-party geofence by 12 Aug 2026, with a $120,000 daily penalty for unexplained delay, trade publication SBC Americas reported.

How the CFTC regulates Kalshi in the United States

Kalshi argues that its single federal registration places its contracts beyond state gambling law. KalshiEX LLC is a designated contract market (DCM), the CFTC's category for a registered derivatives exchange.

Its DCM registration dates to 2020. As the Sixth Circuit's opinion of 25 Sep 2026 recounts, Kalshi began listing sports contracts on 22 Jan 2025 through self-certification. This process allows an exchange to list a product after declaring in writing that it complies with the law.

Federal law gives the CFTC sole authority over swaps traded on a DCM. In a swap, two parties exchange payments tied to a price, a rate or an event with financial consequences. Kalshi's position is that its event contracts qualify as swaps, leaving state gambling regulators without authority over them.

Under Chairman Michael Selig, the CFTC supports that interpretation. The agency asked for public comment on prediction market rules on 12 Mar 2026. On 2 Apr 2026, it sued Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois over their actions against registered exchanges. A rule proposed on 10 Jun 2026 would assess event contracts individually instead of banning entire categories, according to a Congressional Research Service summary.

US states where Kalshi markets are restricted

The markets available to a Kalshi user depend on their state. Courts in Nevada, Washington and Michigan have ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports contracts. Massachusetts won a similar order in January.

Federal appeals courts disagree on whether states have that authority.

The Sixth Circuit found that Kalshi had not shown its sports contracts qualified as swaps. It read the definition as requiring an event with an inherent financial consequence, such as an interest rate change. A game's result did not meet that test. Even if the contracts were swaps, the court added, state gambling laws would still apply.

Sports bettors in Ohio and Tennessee must be 21, three years older than Kalshi's minimum. Both states also require a state licence, which Kalshi lacks. The opinion records Ohio's regulator describing the age gap as a disregard of its legal age limit.

Washington's order covers sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, technology and science, as well as mentions markets. In January, Massachusetts obtained a preliminary injunction covering sports contracts until Kalshi obtains a state sports wagering licence. Such an injunction applies while a case continues.

After a Michigan court directed Kalshi to cancel trades already made by residents, the exchange filed an emergency rule to close those positions. The CFTC suspended that rule on 14 Jul 2026 and ordered Kalshi to fulfil the trades as normal.

How regulators outside the US treat Kalshi

Countries absent from Kalshi's list may still classify its contracts as unlicensed gambling or a banned financial product. Spain and Brazil blocked the website within five weeks of each other, although neither is listed in the Member Agreement.

Kalshi in the European Union and Spain

On 3 Jul 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said that event contracts qualifying as financial instruments are derivatives subject to national bans on selling binary options to retail clients. Binary options pay a fixed amount or nothing based on a yes-or-no outcome. Distributing these contracts in the EU also requires authorisation as an investment firm, ESMA said.

Spain's Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ), its gambling regulator, opened sanction proceedings against Kalshi and Polymarket on 26 May 2026 for operating without a Spanish licence. Both websites were ordered blocked until the case is resolved.

How Brazil blocked Kalshi

Brazil's government announced the blocking of prediction platforms on 24 Apr 2026. That same day, the Conselho Monetário Nacional (CMN), the national monetary council, prohibited derivatives tied to sports, political and entertainment events. The blocked list included Kalshi and Polymarket, Folhapress reported.

Kalshi in the United Kingdom and Australia

Britain's Gambling Commission says prediction markets would need a betting intermediary licence. This is the licence category used for betting exchanges.

In Australia, no prediction market is licensed as a financial market, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Its guidance warns that offshore platform users lose access to local dispute resolution and client money safeguards.

Where Kalshi perpetual futures are available

Only US-based users who pass identity checks and receive separate approval can access Kalshi's perpetual futures.

Perpetual futures track an asset's price without expiring. Traders post margin as collateral and use leverage to hold positions larger than that amount. On 29 May 2026, the CFTC approved Kalshi's Bitcoin contract, BTCPERP.

Every user must apply for a margin account and answer questions about their experience and risk tolerance, according to Kalshi's perpetuals access page. A tutorial is required before the first trade. Most retail users trade through Kalshi Prime, a registered futures commission merchant (FCM). An FCM is a broker that holds customer funds for futures trading. The page says international availability may expand later.

For products other than event contracts, the Member Agreement's country list defers to applicable law and Kalshi policy. That policy currently limits perpetuals to the United States. CME, the Chicago futures exchange operator, sued the CFTC on 18 Jun 2026 over the approval, arguing that perpetuals are swaps.

Funding payments pass from traders on one side of a perpetual to those on the other, keeping the contract's price near the underlying asset's price. Alpha Finance's funding rates across six exchanges provide a comparison with offshore venues.

When losses approach the posted margin, Kalshi automatically closes the position. This forced closing is called liquidation. Our crypto liquidations dashboard tracks it across futures markets.

What could change Kalshi restrictions next

The disagreement between appeals courts is heading to the Supreme Court, where a ruling would determine state access for every US user. On 2 Sep 2026, New Jersey asked the Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit decision.

States are also passing laws aimed directly at prediction markets. The Sixth Circuit noted that a federal court found on 27 Jul 2026 that federal law likely overrode part of Minnesota's prediction market statute.

The CFTC's proposed rule, if adopted, would establish how the agency reviews contracts involving gaming, war or terrorism. Kalshi's October 2025 notice separately reserves its right to change the restricted list at any time to comply with laws or regulators in any jurisdiction.

The risks of trading on Kalshi

Users can lose money on every Kalshi product. Access rules can also change while positions remain open.

If an event contract settles against its holder, it pays nothing and the full purchase price is lost. The Member Agreement describes trading as highly speculative, with fees adding to losses. ASIC compares event contracts to binary options and says about 75% of retail clients lost money trading those.

A leveraged perpetual futures position can consume the entire amount posted as margin. Higher leverage means a smaller price move can trigger liquidation. Our liquidation price calculator shows that level for any entry price, leverage and margin.

The Michigan dispute left open positions caught between a state court and the CFTC. Trading from a restricted jurisdiction breaches the Member Agreement and can cost users access to their accounts. Where Kalshi is unlicensed, users trade without their home regulator's protections.