Mexican Football Federation Sues Kalshi Over Liga MX Trademarks
Mexico.- 24 September 2026 | www.zonadeazar.com The Mexican Football Federation, FMF, has filed a federal lawsuit against Kalshi over its use of the Liga MX trademark, club names and certain data within sports markets offered by the prediction-market exchange.
The action was filed on 22 September in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
New Legal Front for Kalshi
The lawsuit opens another legal front for Kalshi.
Much of the company’s litigation to date has focused on whether its sports event contracts fall exclusively under federal commodities law or can also be regulated under state gambling legislation.
The FMF case instead centres on intellectual property.
FMF Claims
The Federation alleges that Kalshi has used without permission:
- The Liga MX trademark.
- Club names.
- Competition-related logos.
- FMF information for determining market outcomes.
The allegations have not yet been determined by the court.
Alleged Risk of Consumer Confusion
FMF argues that use of the Liga MX name and club identities could cause customers to believe there is an official commercial relationship, affiliation or endorsement.
Kalshi disputes that interpretation.
Remedies Requested
The Federation is asking the court for several forms of relief, including:
- A temporary restraining order.
- A preliminary injunction.
- A permanent injunction.
- Damages.
- Disgorgement of profits allegedly linked to the infringement.
The court has yet to rule on those requests.
Dispute Began in July
The conflict predates the lawsuit.
On 17 July, FMF General Counsel Rafael García Job sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it stop using Liga MX logos, club logos and other protected marks.
Kalshi Responds
Kalshi replied on 21 July.
The company argued that its use of Liga MX and club names qualified as nominative fair use.
Nominative Fair Use
The legal doctrine can, in certain circumstances, allow a trademark to be used when identifying the trademarked product, service or organisation is necessary.
Whether Kalshi’s specific use meets that standard is now one of the central issues in the dispute.
Logos Removed
Following FMF’s initial objections, Kalshi removed some logos from its platform.
It also added disclaimers intended to clarify that the markets were not officially affiliated with the Federation or its clubs.
Names Remained
However, Kalshi continued using Liga MX and club names in plain text.
That continued use ultimately became the main point of disagreement.
Further Demand
FMF repeated its objections on 27 July.
On 6 August, Kalshi Head of Litigation Jovalin Dedaj reiterated the company’s position that its use was limited to plain-text identification of its CFTC-regulated markets.
Blank Rome Retained
FMF subsequently retained Blank Rome LLP to represent it in the United States.
On 18 August, the law firm sent another cease-and-desist letter giving Kalshi ten business days to comply.
Kalshi Maintains Its Position
Kalshi again rejected FMF’s interpretation on 1 September.
It maintained that the disputed terminology was required to identify accurately what individual event contracts concerned.
Apple Comparison
According to the complaint, Kalshi supported its position with an analogy involving financial firms.
It compared its use of Liga MX terminology with investment businesses such as Vanguard or JP Morgan using Apple’s name to identify investments tied to the company.
FMF Challenges the Analogy
The Federation disputes that reasoning.
It argues that Kalshi already uses generic terminology for other major sports competitions.
“Pro Baseball”
The complaint notes that Kalshi refers to Major League Baseball as “Pro Baseball” in some contexts.
It also identifies certain baseball clubs through their cities rather than protected club names.
“The Big Game”
For markets associated with the Super Bowl, Kalshi has used alternative terminology including:
- Pro Football Champion.
- The Big Game.
FMF argues these examples show that protected names are not always necessary.
MMA Instead of UFC
The Federation also points to Kalshi’s use of MMA rather than UFC terminology for certain combat-sports markets.
This forms part of its argument that generic descriptions could also be used for Mexican football.
Kalshi’s Mexican Football Argument
Kalshi says Liga MX presents a different identification issue.
Some Mexican cities have clubs competing across different professional divisions, meaning a city name alone may not make clear which team an event contract concerns.
Use of FMF Data
The complaint also challenges how Kalshi resolves its markets.
FMF alleges that certain Kalshi market rules designate Federation data as the factual source used to determine whether contracts settle as winners or losers.
No Data Permission
FMF says it never authorised that use.
The case therefore extends beyond trademark terminology into the use of Federation-generated information.
Kalshi Sports Contracts
Kalshi offers contracts based on sporting outcomes through its federally regulated exchange.
It maintains that these products are event contracts falling under the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC.
State-Level Litigation
Separately, several US state regulators and attorneys general argue that some of those sports contracts function as sports betting and should comply with state gaming laws.
Those disputes remain subject to ongoing litigation.
Different Legal Question
The FMF action raises a distinct issue.
Rather than focusing primarily on whether sports event contracts are gambling or derivatives, it asks how far an exchange can go in using third-party sports intellectual property to identify its products.
NCAA Precedent
Kalshi faced similar objections earlier in 2026.
The NCAA challenged its use of trademarked language associated with the organisation’s college basketball tournament.
March Madness Terms Removed
Following the NCAA’s objections, Kalshi removed terms including:
- March Madness.
- Sweet Sixteen.
- Final Four.
It replaced them with generic descriptions.
Difference With Liga MX
That dispute did not proceed to court.
In the Liga MX matter, Kalshi removed certain logos and introduced disclaimers but continued using the disputed word marks and club names.
The disagreement has therefore progressed to federal litigation.
FlightAware Dispute
FlightAware also sued Kalshi in August over use of its trademark and data in flight-cancellation event contracts.
That case was withdrawn the following day after Kalshi removed disputed references from relevant market language.
Intellectual Property Becomes a New Issue
The disputes illustrate that prediction-market growth raises issues beyond financial and gambling regulation.
Potential areas of conflict also include:
- Trademarks.
- Data rights.
- Commercial rights.
- Sponsorship.
- Official affiliations.
- Third-party information.
Importance for Sports Organisations
Major sports competitions derive substantial commercial value from their brands and data.
How outside platforms use those assets can therefore become an important commercial and legal question.
Industry Context
Sports prediction markets are expanding rapidly in the United States.
Their growth is creating new interactions between exchanges, leagues, clubs, data providers and regulators.
The Liga MX lawsuit could become an early test of the extent to which prediction-market platforms can use sports intellectual property to identify event contracts.
Next Steps and Impact
The Southern District of New York will first consider the FMF’s requests for interim relief.
The Federation will need to establish its infringement claims, while Kalshi will be able to defend its position that the wording constitutes nominative fair use and is necessary to identify its markets accurately.
The eventual outcome could have wider implications for prediction-market platforms using league names, club identities and other third-party sports marks to structure and market event contracts.
Editó: @fonta
