Additionally, by offering its so-called sports event contracts under the guise of commodity trading pursuant to the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), Kalshi impedes tribes’ inherent sovereign right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands. Contrary to Kalshi’s arguments: (1) the CEA does not govern its gaming-related sports event contracts; (2) such contracts are expressly prohibited by the CEA and Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (“CFTC”) own regulations; and (3) federal, state, and tribal gaming laws therefore apply to the contracts (including IGRA). Because Kalshi has failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits of its claims that the CEA exclusively governs its sports event contracts, this Court should deny Kalshi’s motion for preliminary injunction. I. IGRA Governs Kalshi’s Sports Betting Conduct on Indian Lands A. Kalshi’s sports event contracts constitute “Class III Gaming” under IGRA Congress enacted IGRA in 1988 in the wake of Cabazon to protect the sovereign authority of tribes to regulate gaming activity on their own lands, and to provide states the ability to coordinate with tribes in the regulation of that gaming. IGRA advances the longstanding national policy of promoting and sustaining tribal self-sufficiency. See 25 U.S.C. § 2701(4). In this regard, IGRA has been an incredible success. 1 Tribal gaming revenue supports thousands of jobs in hundreds of communities and provides critical funding to state and local governments through revenue-sharing agreements, tax revenue generation, 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;
1 See FY 2023 Gross Gaming Revenue Report, Nat’l Indian Gaming Comm’n 4–5 (July 2024), available at https://www.nigc.gov/images/uploads/GGR23_Final.pdf.
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