Tribal Groups at Odds with Kalshi Over Prediction Markets, Sports Betting

^{Tribal gaming leader Victor Rocha (right) has Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour (left) in his sites for thinking he can just jump into sports betting without considering tribal gaming interests. (Image: Inc. Magazine / X / Casinos.com)}

As financial exchange platform Kalshi has extended its prediction markets into the world of sporting events, it has faced pushback from multiple states who say the company is essentially offering sports betting without complying to state regulations. But the company has another opponent lining up alongside those state governments: Native American tribes, who see Kalshi as a threat to their gaming operations.

Kalshi has said that it has enjoyed productive conversations with various tribes across the nation, but tribal leaders have disputed that characterization.

Tribal Official Calls Kalshi CEO ‘Lying Little Twerp’

Victor Rocha, a member of the Pechanga Band of Indians and the conference chair for the Indian Gaming Association, had harsh words when speaking of two phone calls he had with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour.

“I’ve talked to Tarek Mansour twice now, and my take from him is that he’s a lying little twerp,” Rocha told Sportico.

BQ At issue is the status of Kalshi’s sports prediction markets. Many gaming regulators have argued that contracts on sporting events are effectively sports bets under a different name. After all, a bet on a team to win an event at +150 odds is no different than buying a contract at $0.40 to pay out $1 if that team wins the event. 

Kalshi and other prediction market operators argue that the ability to trade such contracts on an open market where users set the pricing make their offerings distinct from traditional sports betting. 

The wide range of opponents to Kalshi’s position was made clear earlier in June, when at least five separate groups filed amicus briefs with the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in support of New Jersey’s case against the platform. That included a coalition of 60 individual Native American tribes and nine tribal organizations. 

Others filing briefs included a collection of anti-gambling groups, the Casino Association of New Jersey, The American Gaming Association, and a coalition of attorney general representing 34 states, Washington, DC, and the Northern Mariana Islands. 

“[Kalshi’s] unlawful and unfair entrance into the gaming market has adversely impacted tribal gaming revenue and the benefit of tribes’ bargained-for compacts,” the tribal coalition said in its brief. “Additionally, by offering its so-called sports event contracts under the guise of commodity trading pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), Kalshi impedes tribes’ inherent sovereign right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands.”

Kalshi Fighting Regulators in Several States

New Jersey regulators had sought to find Kalshi in violation of the New Jersey Sports Wagering Act and the state constitution. But a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop that finding, allowing Kalshi to continue offering their contracts in New Jersey. Kalshi is currently offering its sports contracts in all 50 states, despite the fact that several other states – including Maryland, Nevada, Illinois, Ohio, and Arizona – have also taken action to prevent these offerings.

Kalshi has found itself battling tribal groups in other states as well. A coalition of 27 Native American tribes filed an amicus brief in the US District Court for the District of Maryland. But on Monday, Kalshi argued that the brief came after the deadline for filing and didn’t add any relevant new information to the case, urging the court to reject the brief.

“Kalshi wishes to be accommodating of parties claiming an interest in the ongoing preemption litigation, and has consented to all amicus briefs in the now-pending Third Circuit appeal,” Kalshi wrote in its filing. “But this putative amicus brief is untimely and unhelpful.”

So far, tribal groups haven’t filed their own lawsuit against Kalshi or other prediction platforms, though they retain the right to do so. Any such lawsuits are likely to relate to perceived violations of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which tribes have referenced in their amicus briefs in the existing cases. And a group of ten tribal gaming associations submitted comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in March in the hopes of banning sports contracts.

“The IGA strongly urges the CFTC to make it clear that sports contracts are prohibited from being listed or made available for clearing or trading,” the IGA said in a statement related to its request. “Trading of sports contracts is gaming, violates state and federal law, and is contrary to public policy.” 

The CFTC moved to drop its appeal of a 2024 court decision that allowed Kalshi to offer betting on election outcomes in May, and has generally been more supportive of Kalshi and prediction markets under the Trump administration, with President Donald Trump nominating Kalshi board member Brian Quintenz to chair the CFTC in February.