WASHINGTON, D.C. – Indian Gaming Association (IGA) Chairman David Z. Bean issued a statement following a Sept. 16 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision that reversed in part a lower court ruling in Blue Lake Rancheria, et al. v. Kalshi, Inc., et al., finding the tribes are likely to succeed on their claims that Kalshi’s sports-event contracts on tribal lands violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The Ninth Circuit reversed in part the district court’s November 2025 denial of preliminary injunctive relief, finding the tribes are likely to succeed on their IGRA claims. The court remanded the case for the district court to consider the remaining factors required for a preliminary injunction.
The ruling comes amid a broader national legal and policy debate over sports-related prediction markets and the extent to which federally registered exchanges may offer products that function as sports wagering outside established tribal and state gaming regulatory frameworks.
IGA Chairman David Z. Bean’s Statement:
Today’s decision is an important victory for tribal sovereignty, for the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and for every tribal nation that has fought to protect the integrity of Indian gaming.
For more than a year, tribal nations have been sounding the alarm that sports wagering does not become something different simply because a company calls it an ‘event contract’ and offers it through a federally regulated exchange. Today’s decision reinforces a fundamental principle: when sports wagering occurs on Indian lands, federal Indian gaming law matters.
IGRA was enacted by Congress to establish a clear federal framework for gaming on Indian lands, one that recognizes tribal governments as sovereign governments and protects their authority to regulate gaming within their territories. That framework cannot simply be bypassed through technology, creative terminology, or a federal commodities license.
The Indian Gaming Association applauds Blue Lake Rancheria and the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians for standing up for their sovereign rights and for all of Indian Country. Their leadership in this case has helped establish an important legal line: companies cannot enter tribal lands through an app and conduct gaming outside the laws and agreements that govern gaming there.
This case is also bigger than one company or one product. Tribal nations negotiated tribal-state compacts, built sophisticated regulatory systems, and invested generations of work into creating a highly regulated Indian gaming industry that today supports tribal governments, essential services, economic development, jobs, and surrounding communities. That system deserves the full protection of federal law.
The Indian Gaming Association has consistently maintained that prediction-market platforms should not be permitted to use the Commodity Exchange Act or CFTC oversight as a pathway around IGRA, tribal law, tribal-state gaming compacts, or the authority of tribal gaming regulators. Today’s decision is an important affirmation of that position.
Congress did not create IGRA only to have its protections disappear when gambling moves onto a phone. Tribal sovereignty does not stop at the edge of a screen.
IGA will continue standing with our member tribes, our partner tribal organizations, state regulators, and others working to ensure that sports wagering and casino-style gambling are conducted within the lawful, regulated gaming framework Congress established. We will also continue engaging Congress and federal regulators to make certain that innovation in financial markets is never used as an excuse to diminish tribal sovereignty or circumvent federal Indian gaming law.
Today, Indian Country’s voice was heard. We congratulate the tribal nations that brought this action and thank tribal leaders across the country who have remained united in defending tribal sovereignty.
