Case 1:25-cv-12578-RGS Document 41-1 Filed 10/16/25 Page 8 of 24
event contracts do not comply with the requirements for gaming on Indian lands under IGRA. See 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(1). Robinhood’s sports event contracts therefore involve unlawful activity under federal law. 5 For these reasons, Robinhood’s sports event contracts are not lawful transactions under the exclusive jurisdiction of the CFTC. Therefore, the CEA does not preempt or otherwise conflict with IGRA, and IGRA governs all sports event contracts offered on Indian lands. 3. Robinhood’s sports event contracts do not qualify as “swaps” or swaps based on “excluded commodities” Robinhood’s sports event contracts do not qualify as “swaps” or swaps based on “excluded commodities” and, therefore, are not subject to the CFTC’s exclusive jurisdiction. Robinhood presumes to offer its sports event contracts as “swaps” that are based on “excluded commodities.” Under the CEA, a “swap” is defined in relevant part as:
[A]ny agreement, contract, or transaction … that provides for any purchase, sale, payment, or delivery … that is dependent on the occurrence, nonoccurrence, or the extent of the occurrence of an event or contingency associated with a potential financial, economic, or commercial consequence.
5 In addition to IGRA, Robinhood’s sports event contracts also violate other federal laws, including the Wire Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1084, and UIGEA, 31 U.S.C. § 5361. In denying Kalshi’s motion for preliminary injunction, the Maryland District Court ruled that Kalshi’s proposed interpretation of the CEA “would necessarily entail at least a partial implied repeal of the IGRA and the Wire Act.” SeeMartin , 2025 WL 2194908, at *10. Furthermore, Kalshi’s self-certifications are themselves violations of the CEA. Specifically, Kalshi’s self-certifications are “written certification[s] that the new contract … complies with [the CEA] (including regulations under [the CEA]).” 7 U.S.C. § 7a-2(c)(1). Because the sports event contracts do not comply with the CEA or the CFTC’s regulations—because they involve gaming—Kalshi’s self-certifications (upon which Robinhood relies to “facilitate” sports event contracts) attesting otherwise are incorrect and therefore invalid. 8
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