Ho-Chunk Nation joins tribal proceedings contesting Kalshi sports betting contracts -

A new series of tribal proceedings was brought against Kalshi Inc., a New York prediction market operator who tried to offer contracts according to the results of professional sports games. On August 20, the Ho-Chunk nation of Wisconsin brought a case before the Federal Court, based on the arguments that three Californian tribes advanced earlier this year.

The trial, filed with the American district court of the western district of Wisconsin, argues that Kalshi sporting events are not innovative financial products but illegal bets that break the federal law, violate the constitutions of states and undermine tribal sovereignty.

“By putting its sports betting contracts available on the country’s Indian lands and offering to play the general public the game of class III sports betting, Kalshi violates compact regulations, the Commission and the country’s game committee, and interferes directly with the sovereign law of the country and alters the right of the country to regulate games on its Indian lands.” – ho-chunk nation vs kalshi inc and al

“While pretending to be new basic products and ultimately, these event contracts are, substantially, nothing more than illegal and unregulated bets on the results of sporting events,” said the file.

Ho-Chunk Nation files a trial against Kalshi in Wisconsin

For the Ho-Chunk nation, which manages casinos through Wisconsin as part of a pact approved by the federal government, the trial against Kalshi consists in maintaining control of games on tribal land. The complaint stresses that prediction market operations “interfere directly with and alter the sovereign law of the nation to regulate games on its Indian lands”.

Tribal leaders warn that an increase in unregulated sports contracts could eat in casino income that supports essential community services. The trial indicates: “The loss of income has a direct impact on tribal government functions and has a tangible effect on the services and programs that tribal governments provide to their members and to all the people who live, work and visit the country’s Indian land.”

California tribes open the way

The Ho-Chunk Nation trial comes after three Californian tribes, including the Rincon of Luiseño Indians, went to court this spring to prevent Kalshi from listing similar contracts in their territories. Together, these cases show a coordinated effort of the tribes to repel financial companies that go to the profitable market for sports betting.

Breaking: Three Californian Indian tribes recognized by the federal government continued Kalshi and Robinhood before the Federal Court of CA, alleging that the two companies illegally engage in sports betting by offering contracts of sporting events on the Indian land of the tribes in violation of the IGRA. pic.twitter.com/renw1xbtjz

– Daniel Wallach (@wallachlegal) July 23, 2025

Like prosecution in California, the Wisconsin affair argues that Kalshi contracts violate the law on the regulation of Indian Games, which gives the tribes and states the authority on class III games, including sports betting, through compacts in the tribal state.

Regulatory ambiguity at CFTC

Kalshi said that she was legally operating as a scholarship designated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Company leaders argue that sports contracts should be treated as derivatives, not games of chance.

But the CFTC itself has long recognized the danger of blurring this line. In 2011, the agency prohibited certain event contracts which “imply, relate or referent … the game”. And in the legislative history cited by the Ho-Chunk complaint, the senators explicitly warned against the treatment of sports betting as negotiable financial contracts: “These types of contracts would not be used for any real commercial objective. They would rather be used only for the game. ”

Even with these restrictions in place, Kalshi went ahead and was self -certified with new sporting products at the beginning of 2025, teaming up with Robinhood to promote the “Paris of the Super Bowl” and March Madness Contracts across the country. The advertising documents described the company as “the first platform of legal sports betting on a national level” and boasted that its markets were “legal in the 50 states”.

The Ho-Chunk nation calls these “false and deceptive” claims, alleging a deliberate campaign to normalize betting without license.

Kalshi told regulators and courts that its markets are contracts for legitimate events governed by the law on the exchange of goods. But the Ho-Chunk nation underlines long-standing federal prohibitions, noting that the CFTC has prohibited contracts which “imply, relate or referent terrorism, assassination, war, games or illegal activity under any law of state or federal”.

Readwrite contacted Kalshi to comment.

Star image: Canva / Kalshi

The Post Ho-Chunk nation joins tribal lawsuits contesting the sports betting contracts of Kalshi appeared first on Readwrite.

[og_img]