Crypto.com, Novig Sue Missouri as Kalshi, Polymarket Hold Off

Crypto.com’s prediction market exchange and Novig sued Missouri officials, including Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, in federal court on Friday, October 16.

The separate lawsuits ask judges to block the state from enforcing its gambling laws against sports event contracts. The lawsuits were filed as the 30-day deadlines in Hanaway’s cease-and-desist letters expired. Four other platforms that got the same letters have not filed suit.

Two Lawsuits in Two Missouri Federal Courts

Novig filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Crypto.com’s exchange, North American Derivatives Exchange, filed in the Western District.

That exchange is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It powers Crypto.com’s “OG” prediction markets product, also known as OG.com.

Both companies want preliminary and permanent injunctions that would stop Missouri from applying its gambling and sports wagering laws to their contracts. Here’s how the two cases line up, based on court filings:

The Federal Preemption Argument

The core claim in both cases will sound familiar to anyone tracking the prediction market fight. The companies say their sports event contracts are “swaps” under the Commodity Exchange Act. That would place them under the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction, with federal law preempting state law.

Crypto.com’s lawyers put it bluntly in their complaint. They argue Congress “has fully occupied the field of regulating federally registered DCMs,” or designated contract markets.

Crypto.com’s exchange also raised two narrower points. It says Hanaway sent her letter to the wrong company. It also argues Missouri has no sports wagering certificates left to issue.

That second point matters because the letters offered state licensing as one way to comply. Missouri’s constitutional framework allows only two untethered mobile licenses, and both have already been awarded.

Novig made a separate request. It asked the court to preserve the status quo while the Eighth Circuit, which covers Missouri, weighs a related dispute, Kalshi v. Iowa. No ruling has come down in that case yet.

Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood and Underdog Hold Off

Hanaway’s office sent letters to six prediction market operators. So far, only two have gone to court. At the time of writing, Robinhood and Underdog had not sued in either Missouri federal district.

How Missouri’s Cease-and-Desist Letters Set the Clock

The letters went out September 16–17 and were announced September 18. Each gave the recipient 30 days to stop offering sports event contracts to Missourians or agree to be regulated by the Missouri Gaming Commission.

Hanaway pointed to the costs regulated operators carry. Missouri sportsbooks pay a 10% tax on adjusted sports betting revenue plus a $500,000 licensing fee, she noted.

She also raised age concerns. Missouri’s legal betting age is 21. The AG alleged that five of the six platforms, all except Novig, let underage users access the platforms or lack safeguards.

Missouri voters approved Amendment 2 in November 2024. Regulated sports betting launched December 1, 2025, with the Missouri Gaming Commission overseeing the market.

Why the Missouri Prediction Market Lawsuits Matter for Bettors

For Missouri bettors, these cases will help decide whether sports event contracts stay available alongside the state’s regulated sportsbooks. A win for Crypto.com and Novig would strengthen the federal preemption argument in a state with no permits left to hand out.

A loss could push prediction markets out of Missouri entirely. The Eighth Circuit’s eventual Kalshi v. Iowa ruling could also shape how both judges proceed.