Robinhood sues Missouri over event contracts, the last of six cease-and-desist recipients to go to court

Robinhood Derivatives, LLC sued Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway and six Missouri Gaming Commission officials in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on November 9, 2026 (complaint, docket, No. 4:26-cv-01932). With the filing, all six companies that received the Attorney General's September cease-and-desist letters over sports event contracts have now sued the state.

The 35-page complaint says Robinhood answered its September 16 letter on October 16, and that on November 6 the Solicitor General told the company that "the Attorney General of Missouri now intends to seek a judicial order compelling compliance with state law in at least three days."

A broker, not an exchange

Unlike the earlier plaintiffs, Robinhood is not a designated contract market. It is registered with the CFTC as a futures commission merchant that passes customer orders to exchanges. The complaint says it routes sports-related contracts to Kalshi, to Nadex (since September 8, 2026) and to Rothera, a contract market 90% owned by a joint venture formed by its parent, Robinhood Markets. It argues that federal preemption covers intermediaries as well as exchanges.

Robinhood also says it cannot get the licence Missouri demands: it runs no excursion gambling boat or sports team, and the state's two direct mobile licences went to DraftKings and Circa Sports on April 29, 2026.

It brings a single Supremacy Clause count and seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions. The claims are allegations.

Polymarket US sued in the same court the same day, and Kalshi has asked for a temporary restraining order. The cases are listed in AskSpinner's prediction-market litigation tracker.