Case 3:25-cv-06162-JSC Document 35 Filed 09/04/25 Page 28 of 34
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Additionally, Kalshi is or, in the future, will be thereby diverting profits from the Tribes
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and affecting tribal gaming revenues, which are either the sole or the primary source of income for
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the Tribes. Ramos Decl. ¶¶ 40-42; Mathiesen-Powell Decl. ¶¶ 25-27. Those revenues fund their
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tribal governments and the programs and services provided to members of the Tribes and non-
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members living on the Tribes’ reservations. Ramos Decl. ¶¶ 42-52. Importantly, among those
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programs, the Tribes offer programs to combat the harm of compulsive gambling. Ramos Decl. ¶
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36. Neither the CEA, nor the CFTC regulations, nor Kalshi’s self-certifications, provide any
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preventative or remedial protections for compulsive behavior by consumers of app-based sports
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betting.
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Crucially, any potential economic or reputational harm to Kalshi arising from injunctive
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relief granted to the Tribes is a consequence of Kalshi’s own actions. Kalshi is conducting patently
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unlawful, unregulated class III gaming in the form of sports betting, an activity that is subject to
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stringent regulation to protect the public from the potential consequences of unregulated
gambling 15 . Because they have failed to fulfill the requirements for self-certification and have
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failed to subject their products to an evaluation of the public interest by the CFTC, Kalshi cannot
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assert that enjoining presumptively prohibited contracts from being offered on Indian lands, while
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the Court evaluates whether Kalshi’s contracts are CEA compliant and comport with the public
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interest, constitutes a significant equitable consideration. Kalshi’s choice to self-certify instead of
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seeking affirmative approval of its gaming contracts evidences a calculated risk that either the
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CFTC or a court would find its activities impermissible. On balance, disruptions of tribal
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sovereignty and core governmental functions of the Tribal governments significantly outweigh
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any potential harm to Kalshi, particularly since any harm to Kalshi is largely a product of its own
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conduct and decision-making.
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19 NOTICE OF MOTION AND MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES [ Case No.: 25-cv-06162-JSC] 15 The bets placed by DeVries and Carrillo contain the elements of consideration (the bet or wager), chance (the random outcome of the sporting event), and prize (the paying of money to winners and collecting of money from losers) and constitutes gaming as defined by the NIGC’s regulations and the Tribe’s Gaming Ordinance. In other words what Kalshi is doing is just plain old fashion sports gambling.
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