Case: 2:25-cv-01165-SDM-CMV Doc #: 34-1 Filed: 11/14/25 Page: 21 of 22 PAGEID #: 539
Kalshi tramples upon established federal Indian policy by usurping the rights of tribes to regulate gaming on Indian land and benefit from such gaming. IGRA mandates that tribes “have the exclusive right to regulate gaming activity on Indian lands.” 25 U.S.C. §§ 2701(5), 2710(d)(1)(C). Kalshi violates this exclusive right, which is particularly dangerous because it does not comply with any gaming regulations that protect consumers, ensure fairness, or mitigate negative gaming impacts. 13 Finally, Kalshi is siphoning revenue from tribal governments in violation of federal Indian policy. IGRA requires all revenues from tribal gaming be used for governmental or charitable purposes. 25 U.S.C. § 2710(b)(2)(B). As Justice Sotomayor explained in Bay Mills : “[T]ribal gaming operations cannot be understood as mere profit-making ventures that are wholly separate from the Tribes’ core governmental functions.” 572 U.S. at 810 (Sotomayor, J., concurring). Many tribes have come to rely on gaming revenue because destructive former federal policies “left a devastating legacy” on tribes that are “largely unable to obtain substantial revenue by taxing tribal members … [because] there is very little income, property, or sales [that tribal governments] could tax.” Id. at 812–13 (quoting Matthew L.M. Fletcher, In Pursuit of Tribal Economic Development as a Substitute for Reservation Tax Revenue , 80 N.D. L. Rev. 759, 774 (2004)). In this regard, IGRA has been incredibly successful. 14 The revenue generated 13 This lack of responsible gaming measures and consumer protections, which are required by legal gaming operations, is dangerous and contrary to the public interest. Recently, Josh Sterling (a former CFTC employee and the lawyer representing Kalshi) dismissed such responsible gaming concerns, stating: “People are adults, and they’re allowed to spend their money however they want it, and if they lose their shirt, that’s on them.” Jessica Welman, Kalshi’s lawyer goes hard at state-regulated gambling , SBCAmericas, (July 11, 2025), available at https://sbcamericas.com/2025/07/11/kalshi-nclgs-sports-contract-debate/?amp. 14 See, e.g. , NIGC, FY 2023 Gross Gaming Revenue Report 4–5 (July 2024), available at https://www.nigc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/GGR23_Final.pdf.
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