Crypto.com prediction market OG sues Missouri over sports event contract crackdown

North American Derivatives Exchange (NADEX), which operates Crypto.com's U.S. prediction market OG, sued the Missouri attorney general and members of the Missouri Gaming Commission on Oct. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. Pushing back against a state order to stop offering "event contracts" tied to sports results, the company asked the court for a declaratory judgment that Missouri's gambling laws do not apply to its contracts and for a permanent injunction.

The same day, Ludlow Exchange, the operator of prediction market Novig, filed a similar suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. They are the first of the six companies that received cease-and-desist orders from Missouri last month to take the state to court.

A cease-and-desist letter a month earlier

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a Sept. 17 press release that her office had sent cease-and-desist letters to six companies: Polymarket, Kalshi, Crypto.com, Novig, Underdog and Robinhood. Offering sports "event contracts" to Missourians amounts to unlicensed sports wagering, the office said. The letter addressed to Crypto.com was dated Sept. 16 and gave the company 30 days to comply.

The letter made three demands: obtain a license from the Missouri Gaming Commission, pay the 10% tax on adjusted gross revenue from in-state sports wagering and license fees of up to $500,000, and keep anyone under 21 from placing bets. Missouri voters legalized sports betting in a 2024 ballot measure (Amendment 2), and the market opened on Dec. 1, 2025.

"Companies cannot repackage sports bets as 'event contracts' to avoid Missouri law."

Catherine Hanaway, Missouri Attorney General

Gambling or derivatives: the two sides

In its complaint, OG's operator argued that getting a license is effectively not an option. Missouri's constitution allows only two direct mobile licenses for operators not tied to gambling boats or professional sports teams, and both have already been awarded, the company said. It added that any actual enforcement by the state would cause irreparable harm, including the loss of customers and reputation.

The CFTC's new proposal makes it into the complaint

OG's operator cited a proposal the CFTC released on Oct. 9. That day the CFTC proposed adding event contracts related to sports, politics, culture and weather to the definition of "swap," and at the same time put into effect an interim final rule excluding casino-style gambling products from that definition.

The OG name first appeared in February this year. NADEX gave the brand to a separate platform that trades only event contracts, apart from its existing products, and Crypto.com announced the launch of "OG" the same month.

Briefing in the Kalshi appeal runs to Dec. 6

Novig said in its complaint that Missouri's deadline was Oct. 17 and also asked for a preliminary injunction to keep the status quo in place until a ruling. It pointed to a case between Kalshi and Iowa on the same question that is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, where briefing ends on Dec. 6. Missouri also falls under that appeals court.

Federal appeals courts are already split. The Third Circuit sided with Kalshi, while the Sixth and Ninth Circuits ruled against it. According to The Block, the other four companies that received letters (Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood and Underdog) had not sued in Missouri federal court as of Oct. 18.