- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
Four New Mexico tribes asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction blocking prediction market operator Kalshi from offering sports‑event contracts on their lands, saying the company is conducting class III gaming without authorization under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The tribes initially filed the lawsuit May 12. Kalshi moved to dismiss the case on June 24, arguing the tribes cannot enforce their gaming laws against a nonmember entity based in New York. Kalshi said its online exchange is regulated exclusively by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and told the court that tribal authority does not extend to off‑reservation internet activity. Kalshi also said the New Mexico Tribal‑State Gaming Compact cannot bind a nonparty.
In a July 22 filing, the tribes submitted a consolidated response opposing Kalshi’s motion to dismiss and renewed the motion for a preliminary injunction. They argue IGRA incorporates their gaming ordinances and compacts, giving them authority to regulate all class III gaming on their lands, including online sports betting when the bettor is physically located there.
“Kalshi operates sports betting, including for underage patrons, within the tribes’ Indian lands,” the complaint reads. “Those ongoing violations impede the tribes’ sovereign ability to enforce their tribal gaming laws… which constitutes irreparable harm.”
In their filing, the tribes said investigations showed Kalshi accepting and paying wagers placed from tribal lands, including by underage users. The tribes also said Kalshi could avoid operating on their lands by geofencing.
The lawsuit comes as tribes and policymakers escalate their opposition to sports-event prediction markets, arguing the federally regulated products undermine tribal gaming compacts, state gaming laws and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Tribal leaders have warned the markets threaten gaming revenue that funds tribal government services and could reshape who regulates online sports wagering.
