Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed criminal charges against the online platform Kalshi on Tuesday. The filing alleged the company operated an unlicensed gambling business and offered election wagering in the state.

The 20-count filing included 16 charges of operating an unlicensed gambling business and four charges of election wagering, according to court filings. All of the charges were misdemeanors and could carry potential fines, according to court filings.

Kalshi lets people bet on real-world events, from who will win a pro sports game to the weather. Mayes’s charges came several days after Kalshi sued the state preemptively.

In a statement, Mayes said, "Kalshi may brand itself as a 'prediction market,' but what it's actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law. No company gets to decide for itself which laws to follow."

Elisabeth Diana, a spokeswoman for Kalshi, disputed the state’s case. Diana said, "Arizona's charges were 'seriously flawed' and an example of 'gamesmanship.'" Diana also said, "These charges are meritless, and we look forward to fighting them in court."

Kalshi and other prediction market platforms, such as Polymarket, have been sued by several states over whether they should be subject to state-level gambling laws. Prediction market platforms have argued that trading on event contracts does not qualify as gambling. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig said that the commission will seek to defend federal jurisdiction over prediction market platforms.