Case 2:25-cv-01541-APG-DJA Document 32 Filed 09/30/25 Page 4 of 21
revenue, and economic stimulus.
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IGRA establishes a three-tier regulatory structure for Class III gaming on Indian lands,
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providing that such gaming is only lawful if it is: (1) authorized by tribal ordinance or resolution;
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(2) located in a state that permits such gaming; and (3) conducted in accordance with a tribal-state
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gaming compact. 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(1). IGRA also established the National Indian Gaming
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Commission (“NIGC”) to oversee much of this regulatory regime. 25 U.S.C. § 2704. This
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regulatory regime is comprehensive, and occupies the entire field of gaming on Indian lands. See
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Tamiami Partners, Ltd. v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians , 63 F.3d 1030, 1033 (11th Cir. 1995)
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(IGRA was “intended to expressly preempt the field in the governance of gaming activities on
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Indian lands” (quoting S. Rep. No. 100-446, at 6 (1988)); Gaming Corp. of Am. v. Dorsey &
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Whitney , 88 F.3d 536, 544 (8th Cir. 1996).
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IGRA’s implementing regulations define “Class III Gaming” to expressly include “sports
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betting.” 3 25 C.F.R. § 502.4(c). While the term “sports betting” is not defined therein, it is generally understood to mean:
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[T]he staking or risking by any person of something of value upon the outcome of … a sporting event … upon an agreement or understanding that the person or another person will receive something of value in the event of a certain outcome.
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31 U.S.C. § 5362(1)(A) (defining “bet or wager” under the Unlawful Internet Gambling
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Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”)). 4 This is precisely what Robinhood is offering: contracts that stake
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2 See, e.g. , Nat’l Indian Gaming Comm’n, FY 2023 Gross Gaming Revenue Report 4–5 (July 2024), available at https://www.nigc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GGR23_Final.pdf . 3 See Letter from Kevin Washburn, General Counsel, NIGC, to Joseph M. Speck, Nic-A-Bob Prods., re: WIN Sports Betting Game (Mar. 13, 2001), available at https://www.nigc.gov/wp- content/uploads/2025/03/WIN-Sports-Betting-Game-Class-III.pdf (“Because sports betting does not fit into any of the specifically defined categories of Class II gaming set forth above, it is a Class III form of gaming.”). 4 Robinhood may argue, as Crypto.com recently did, that the UIGEA’s definition of “bet or wager” expressly excludes transactions on DCMs. See Reply in Support of Plaintiff’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and Motion to Strike, North American Derivatives Exchange, Inc. v. Dreitzer , No. 2:25-cv-00978, ECF No. 86 at *10 (Sept. 22, 2025). But while that may generally be true, see 31 U.S.C. § 5362(1)(E), that exclusion is specific to the applicability of the UIGEA and
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