2026 Membership Book FINAL

Kalshi’s platform allows users as young as 18 years-old can bet on sports on the lands of hundreds of tribes across the United States. But Kalshi has not obtained a license to offer these bets pursuant to any tribal ordinance or resolution; nor has Kalshi been authorized to conduct its sports betting pursuant to any tribal-state compact. Thus, each bet Kalshi offers and facilitates on Indian lands is a violation of IGRA. These violations are highly impactful—they undermine tribal sovereignty and encroach on tribal gaming revenue and critical government funding. B. The CEA does not preempt IGRA Kalshi’s argument—that the CEA governs and the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over Kalshi’s sports event contracts—presumes that the CEA preempts IGRA in its entirety. In fact, Kalshi has explicitly made such an argument here, stating: “[E]ven if [IGRA’s definition of ‘gaming’ included sports event contracts], the CEA’s exclusive jurisdiction provision would displace any attempt by tribes to regulate those contracts.” ECF No. 29 at 7. While the issue is more accurately one concerning a conflict of law, the CEA neither preempts nor conflicts with IGRA, and IGRA therefore governs Kalshi’s sports event contracts on Indian lands. Congress has been regulating commodity futures for more than a century, historically in the context of agricultural commodities. See Merrill Lynch v. Curran , 456 U.S. 353, 357–63 (1982). Following the 2008 financial crisis, Congress amended the CEA, in part, to include the “Special Rule” concerning event contracts. 7 U.S.C. § 7a-2(c)(5)(C). The Special Rule authorizes the CFTC to prohibit event contracts that are contrary to the public interest, including certain enumerated categories identified by Congress. These enumerated categories expressly include gaming or activity that is unlawful under federal or state law. Id. Shortly after the Special Rule’s enactment, the CFTC adopted its implementing regulations. Those regulations explicitly prohibit the listing and trading of any event contract

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