Case: 2:25-cv-01165-SDM-CMV Doc #: 34-1 Filed: 11/14/25 Page: 19 of 22 PAGEID #: 537
to be lawful—which, as established, Kalshi’s is not—but is also specific only to the applicability of the UIGEA and does not change the core understanding of what “sports betting” means. Moreover, IGRA contains no similar exclusion for class III gaming, which expressly includes “sports betting.” See 25 C.F.R. § 502.4(c). Additionally, while gaming under IGRA can involve bets or wagers as the words are commonly used, see 25 C.F.R. § 502.4(c), there is no indication, let alone clear intent, that Congress meant for IGRA to be limited to the technical definition—including all the exceptions—provided in the words of an entirely separate statute. Further, UIGEA and IGRA are not in conflict. In Iipay , the Ninth Circuit emphasized that “the UIGEA does not make gambling legal or illegal directly.” 898 F.3d at 965. Instead, UIGEA merely ensures that the entire process of placing and accepting wagers is lawful in the jurisdictions where the wagers are placed and accepted. See id . In contrast, under IGRA, no one may engage in class III gaming activities—including offering, placing, and accepting sports bets—on Indian lands unless authorized to do so under an IGRA compact. See 25 U.S.C. § 2710(d)(1). As explained above, neither the CEA nor UIGEA has repealed this pillar of IGRA. Thus, each bet Kalshi offers on Indian lands violates IGRA, undermines tribal sovereignty, and reduces tribal gaming revenue and government funding. II. Ignoring the Applicability of IGRA Raises Serious Policy Concerns and Violates Federal Indian Policy Kalshi’s sports-event contracts violate well-established federal Indian policy. The Supreme Court has “consistently recognized that Indian tribes retain ‘attributes of sovereignty over both their members and their territory.’” Cabazon , 480 U.S. at 207 (quoting United States v. Mazurie , 419 U.S. 544, 557 (1975)). While “the Constitution grants Congress broad general powers to legislate in respect to Indian tribes,” United States v. Lara , 541 U.S. 193, 200 (2004),
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