Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians have failed to secure a preliminary injunction against Kalshi over allegedly illegal offering of sports contracts on their lands.

The tribes are suing Kalshi and Robinhood, claiming the companies engage in illegal sports gambling.

The plaintiffs allege the defendants are unlawfully offering and advertising Class III gaming on federally recognized tribal lands through the Kalshi app.

KalshiEx LLC partners with Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, and Robinhood Markets, Inc. to operate a nationwide, federally registered, internet-based exchange with “event contracts” wherein users can enter transactions that are based on the occurrence of real-world events such as elections and sports matches.

The plaintiffs have brought claims under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”) and the Lanham Act, as well as five claims that are not the subject of the instant motion for preliminary injunction.

As to the IGRA claim, Plaintiffs seek to enjoin Kalshi “from offering on the Tribes’ Indian lands contracts that take the form of a binary ‘yes/no’ event contract that pose the following questions:

• Will <team> win <title>?’
• ‘Will <team> win <event>?’”

As to the Lanham Act claim, Plaintiffs request an injunction preventing Kalshi “from marketing its sports contracts as ‘legal in all 50 states’ or any variation of that phrase or similar representation regarding the nationwide legality of these gaming contracts.”

On November 10, 2025, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the California Northern District Court denied the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction.

The Judge concluded that the tribes have not shown a likelihood of success on the merits for either claim.

The Court, however, noted that it does not take lightly Plaintiffs’ concerns about the effects Kalshi’s activities might have on tribal sovereignty and the Tribes’ finances. Indeed, by self-certifying the legality of its event contracts in way that insulates its activities from judicial review, Kalshi may have found a way around prohibitions on interstate gambling that were created with the Tribes’ best interest in mind.

But, on the record before the Court, and in light of the Commodity Exchange Act’s self-certification process, the plaintiffs have not met their burden of showing a likelihood of success on their IGRA claim.

The lawsuit continues at the California Northern District Court.