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Netflix has been threatened with legal action by Kalshi, which is accusing the streaming giant of defamation over a trailer for an upcoming documentary that showed traders betting in a state where it is not allowed to operate.
In a cease and desist, Kalshi demanded that Netflix remove the trailer immediately Instadocs: Prediction market games And issue a general rollback. It said the video falsely implied that users had exchanged contracts for sporting events on Calcio in Nevada in violation of a court order.
In the trailer, a short scene shows several people gathered at a house in Nevada discussing prediction markets during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. One participant holds up what appears to be a Calcci transaction receipt and says: “I like to bet on Calcci” before claiming to have bet $5,000 on Spain to win the tournament.
The prediction market operator is currently prohibited from offering event-based contracts that would allow Nevada residents to bet on sports under a court order issued as part of ongoing litigation with state regulators. The letter alleged that Netflix falsely portrayed the company as violating the injunction by implying that the trade in the trailer occurred in July 2026.
“These false statements jeopardize Calci’s legal standing in lawsuits that are of significant importance to Calci’s business,” the letter said, which noted that the company was concerned the trailer could expose it to court or other penalties.
Kalci pointed to several details that he says reveal that the receipt shown in the promotional clip is not authentic. Among them: The photo shown on the phone is dated May 16, 2025, more than a year before the events depicted in the trailer took place. She also noted that the phone screen displayed the word “cropped,” indicating that the user was viewing a saved image instead of interacting with the live Kalshi application.
In the lead-up to the legal threat, Kalci alerted a Netflix employee responsible for editing the trailer to the alleged inaccuracies. According to the letter, the employee acknowledged not realizing the receipt was dated from the previous year or that it looked like a cropped screenshot rather than a live transaction. The employee agreed that the receipt would not appear in the final documentary, but refused to remove it from the trailer despite being warned that it could lead to legal complications in the Nevada lawsuit, Calci said.
These concerns quickly materialized, as a CNN reporter contacted the company seeking clarification on where and when the premium deals occurred, Kalci said. The company argued that Netflix’s refusal to remove the trailer after learning of alleged errors constituted evidence of actual malice under defamation law.
Netflix said in a statement that none of the footage in the documentary was fabricated. A company spokesperson added: “The footage was filmed at the Winible World Cup Watch Weekend in Las Vegas on July 17, 2026.” “The featured trader with a trade in Spain showed us a screenshot of his bet, which was made in May 2025 before any Nevada court order was issued. Any specific trades or bets noted over that weekend are between the individual and the app he placed the trades on.”
