A judge has ruled in favor of prediction market company Kalshi, which has been amidst an ongoing legal case for some months now.
Earlier in the year, in June, three California tribes sued Kalshi and Robinhood for what they claim to be illegal sports gambling. The tribes involved include the Blue Lake Rancheria, the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians.
These three Native American tribes are claiming that these apps break the IGRA, or Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 25 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.. At its core, the IGRA protects gaming for tribes, as it’s seen as a source of revenue, which in turn leads to other economic benefits. The suit was brought to prevent gambling on tribal land.
At the beginning of November, both Kalshi and Robinhood filed separate motions to have the full lawsuit dismissed, with the filings tackling the core talking points brought by the tribes. The duo have stated their offerings are not ‘gaming’ under the IGRA, nor are they a tribe or acting in a way that contravenes the IGRA.
On November 10, Kalshi announced in a press release that it has “successfully defended against a preliminary injunction request in Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi.”
What has Kalshi said about the California Tribes’ case?
Within the press release seen by ReadWrite, the company says that tribal lawyers “failed to prove a likelihood of success on their arguments, leading to the decision to deny their request for a preliminary injunction.”
A preliminary injunction refers to a temporary court order where someone has to stop something before the final judgment can be made.
A Kalshi spokesperson provided this comment about the ruling: “We welcome today’s decision denying the plaintiff tribes’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Kalshi’s nationwide, federally-regulated exchange offers all users a fair and transparent way to trade event contracts. Casinos located on tribal lands offer their customers a fundamentally different product.”
Featured Image: Kalshi logo
