Crypto.com’s regulated prediction-market exchange and Novig have filed separate federal lawsuits seeking to stop Missouri from applying state sports-wagering law to their sports event contracts.
Novig’s operator, Ludlow Exchange, filed its complaint on October 16 in the Eastern District of Missouri. The federal docket record lists the case as 4:26-cv-01780 and identifies the dispute as a federal commodity regulation action. Crypto.com’s North American Derivatives Exchange filed separately in the Western District.
Missouri’s September cease-and-desist letter ordered Novig to stop offering sports wagering in the state or obtain a license and pay applicable taxes and fees. The attorney general’s letter argues that sports event contracts remain subject to state gambling law even when an operator describes them as federally regulated swaps.
The platforms take the opposite position. They argue that the Commodity Exchange Act gives the Commodity Futures Trading Commission exclusive jurisdiction over their products and preempts state enforcement. Novig is seeking preliminary and permanent relief. The filing of a complaint does not establish that either company has won an injunction or may continue operating without state interference.
The Block’s review of the court records found that Kalshi, Polymarket, Robinhood and Underdog, which received similar Missouri letters, had not filed challenges in the state’s federal districts as of Sunday. The cases arrive amid conflicting appellate treatment of whether federal commodities law displaces state gambling rules for sports contracts.
TOKEN RECON ASSESSMENT
Missouri is now part of a multi-state jurisdictional battle that can determine whether prediction markets scale through one federal rulebook or face a state-by-state licensing map. The next material event is judicial action on preliminary relief. Until a court rules, the complaints establish the operators’ legal claims, not their right to ignore Missouri’s order.
Sources
Missouri Attorney General: Novig cease-and-desist letter
