Crypto.com and Novig have filed lawsuits against the state of Missouri regarding the enforcement of regulations in the sports betting market, requesting that the state refrain from taking enforcement actions against their sporting event contracts in accordance with sports betting laws after the 30-day compliance period expires.

According to federal court records reviewed by encrypted media, both companies filed lawsuits on October 16th, challenging the injunction issued by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway in September.

These lawsuits follow warnings issued to six predictive market operators, including Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood, and Underdog. The companies were informed that they must cease providing sports event contracts in Missouri unless they obtain a state gambling license.

As of Sunday, among these six companies, only Crypto.com and Novig were reported to have filed federal lawsuits in Missouri. According to a review of court records by The Block, the other four companies have not filed any cases in any federal judicial jurisdiction in that state.

Both plaintiffs argue that their contracts are governed by federal commodity laws, and that Missouri cannot regulate them as traditional sports betting.

Crypto.com Questions Missouri's Jurisdiction over Sports Contracts

The Crypto.com OG-operated, federally regulated derivatives exchange North American Derivatives Exchange has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

The complaint alleges that the Commodity Exchange Act grants the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC ) exclusive authority over disputed contracts, therefore Missouri cannot apply its gambling regulations to these transactions.

The exchange requested the court to issue a declaratory judgment to confirm its legal position and to issue a permanent injunction to prevent state officials from taking enforcement actions against its sports event contracts.

The complaint also raised a procedural objection regarding the recipients of law enforcement notices in Missouri.

According to the complaint, the Hanaway office mistakenly sent the cease-and-desist order to Foris DAX, Inc, rather than to North American Derivatives Exchange which is responsible for operating this federally regulated market.

The company also stated that applying for a sports betting license in Missouri is not a viable alternative, as the state's constitutional framework only provides for two direct mobile sports betting licenses, and both of these licenses have already been granted.

The Attorney General of Missouri previously gave relevant companies 30 days to either comply with state licensing requirements or cease providing controversial contracts to residents.

According to the state's sports betting framework, licensed operators are required to pay a 10% tax on total sports betting revenue and must prevent customers under the age of 21 from placing bets.

In the letter from Hanaway to Crypto.com, it is explicitly stated that the platform allows users as young as 18 to trade sports event contracts, which is below the legal gambling age in Missouri.

Crypto.com launched the OG predictive market platform in February 2026, providing contracts for sports, financial, and cultural events through its federally regulated derivatives infrastructure.

La plataforma fue lanzada como un producto independiente dirigido al consumidor y cuenta con funciones de transacción, interacción social y clasificaciones. Su lanzamiento inicial se centró en el mercado estadounidense.

Novig seeks a ban, and the lawsuit in Missouri continues to progress

Novig has filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District Federal Court of Missouri through its entity Ludlow Exchange LLC, which operates and predicts markets and is supervised by CFTC.

Federal court records list the case as Ludlow Exchange, LLC v. Hanaway et al. The case number is 4:26- cv-01780, and the complaint was filed on October 16th.

The defendants include the Attorney General Hanaway, as well as Missouri gaming officials Michael Lear and Jan Zimmerman.

Novig requests the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions to prohibit the enforcement of Missouri's gambling laws within the scope of application of its sports event contracts.

The company believes that contracts traded on exchanges designated by CFTC should be subject to federal commodity regulations preferentially, rather than state gambling requirements.

Its preliminary relief request mentioned an appeal pending involving Kalshi in Iowa, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals of the United States.

Novig hopes that during the time the Missouri court deliberates on the issue of federal jurisdiction in the appellate court, the status quo will be maintained.

The company has previously pursued similar legal challenges in other states.

In August this year, crypto.news reported on a lawsuit filed by Novig in Wisconsin, where the company attempted to prevent state officials from applying gambling restrictions to its sports contracts that are under federal regulation.

Previous reports indicated that Ludlow Exchange obtained the designated contract market qualification from CFTC on June 16th.

Prior to the Wisconsin lawsuit, Novig had also filed legal challenges against officials in New York, Massachusetts, Washington State, and New Mexico, making Missouri another judicial jurisdiction where they sought to block state law enforcement.

While advancing these cases, Novig is also continuing to expand its business partnerships. In July of this year, the company announced a multi-year agreement with the New York Mets, becoming the official forecasting market partner for this baseball team.

Missouri state requires that prediction markets must comply with gambling laws

Law enforcement actions in Missouri began with cease-and-desist orders issued on September 16th and 17th, followed by the Hanaway office publicly announcing this decision on September 18th.

In the official statement, the Attorney General argued that the sports betting contracts offered to residents of Missouri constitute unlicensed sports gambling under state law.

Hanaway indicates: 'Companies cannot repackage sports bets as 'event contracts' in order to circumvent Missouri law.'

Her office insists that companies providing these products must obtain a license issued by the Missouri Gaming Commission, fulfill the applicable tax obligations, and comply with the state's minimum betting age requirements.

In November 2024, voters in Missouri passed Amendment 2, which established a regulated sports betting framework in the state.

Legal sports betting will commence on December 1, 2025, with the Missouri Gaming Commission responsible for regulating licensed operators.

The Office of the Attorney General stated that among the six operators named, five either allowed customers under the age of 21 to access their products or lacked sufficient safeguards to prevent minors from participating.

Novig does not appear in the specific allegation regarding age issues in the public statement made by the state authorities.

Hanaway warns that companies that do not comply with the cease-and-desist orders may face law enforcement action.

Kalshi has communicated with the Office of the Attorney General before the deadline arrived. Missouri officials stated in comments reported by Spectrum News on October 2nd that these negotiations are still ongoing.

Differences still exist among federal courts regarding the prediction of market regulation issues

Federal courts have reached different conclusions regarding whether the Commodity Exchange Act prevents states from regulating sports event contracts as gambling products.

The Sixth and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals supported rulings unfavorable to Kalshi in the relevant disputes, while the Third Circuit Court took the side of that company.

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the state of Missouri, is also considering this issue through another lawsuit from Iowa mentioned in Novig.

A federal court in Wisconsin previously rejected CFTC's request for a preliminary injunction regarding state gambling enforcement in July.

Judge William Griesbach held that the regulatory authorities failed to demonstrate the conditions necessary to obtain preliminary relief, including the likelihood of success in their claim for federal priority.

This ruling does not constitute a final decision regarding whether the federal commerce laws prevail over Wisconsin's gambling regulations.

Underdog is also pursuing its legal challenges outside of Missouri, including lawsuits against officials in Connecticut regarding restrictions on sports betting contracts.

The case in Wisconsin, Novig, was filed on August 14th, with the Attorney General Josh Kaul and the gambling administrator John Dillett listed as defendants. Federal court records indicate that a preliminary pretrial hearing is scheduled for October 20th.

In Missouri, the East District records confirm that Novig filed a complaint on October 16th, along with documents for court appearance and disclosure. As far as the public records available for this report, the court has not yet approved the injunction requested by them.