Case 2:25-cv-00978-APG-BNW Document 75 Filed 09/15/25 Page 4 of 20
provides critical funding to state and local governments through revenue-sharing agreements, tax
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revenue, and economic stimulus.
IGRA establishes a three-tier regulatory structure for Class III gaming on Indian lands,
providing that such gaming is only lawful if it is: (1) authorized by tribal ordinance or resolution;
(2) located in a state that permits such gaming; and (3) conducted in accordance with a tribal-state
gaming compact. 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(1). IGRA also established the National Indian Gaming
Commission (“NIGC”) to oversee much of this regulatory regime. 25 U.S.C. § 2704. This
regulatory regime is comprehensive, and occupies the entire field of gaming on Indian lands. See
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
Indian lands” (quoting S. Rep. No. 100-446, at 6 (1988)); Gaming Corp. of Am. v. Dorsey &
Whitney , 88 F.3d 536, 547 (8th Cir. 1996).
IGRA’s implementing regulations define “Class III Gaming” to expressly include “sports
betting.” 3 25 C.F.R. § 502.4(c). While the term “sports betting” is not defined therein, it is generally understood to mean:
[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.
31 U.S.C. § 5362(1)(A) (defining “bet or wager” under the Unlawful Internet Gambling
Enforcement Act (“UIGEA”)). This is precisely what Crypto.com offers: contracts that stake or
risk something of value upon the outcome of a sporting event based on the understanding that the
person will receive something of value based on that outcome. Crypto.com does not deny this.
Instead, Crypto.com ignores the fact that its sports event contracts are sports bets by another name,
and maintains that this Court only needs to conclude that (1) Crypto.com is a designated contract
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/images/uploads/game-opinions/WIN%20Sports%20Betting%20Game- Class%20III.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.”).
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