Court Ruling Bans Kalshi From California Tribal Lands
Jesse M. Cox Published 21/09/2026
A Ninth Circuit Court ruled that prediction market site Kalshi must stop offering its sports-event contracts anywhere on tribal lands in California. The ruling was based on the fact that the tribes are likely to prove that Kalshi is violating the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. In California, sports betting remains against the law. On top of that, state gambling compacts give control over almost all types of gambling in California to the state's tribes.
The ruling by the appellate court reverses a district court ruling that had originally denied the tribes' pursuit of a preliminary injunction against Kalshi's sports-event contracts.
A unanimous decision favors California tribes
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed with the tribes via a unanimous 3-0 decision. The court ruled that two federally recognized California tribes, Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, deserved a preliminary injunction. Based on this ruling, the court believes that, as this case goes forward, it will likely show that Kalshi's sports-event contracts violate the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), as well as the gaming ordinances of the tribes.
Circuit Judge Margaret McKeown wrote in her ruling that a lower court judge erred in denying an injunction. The judge described a Kalshi event contract as "an act of placing a bet or wager," according to reporting by Reuters. Neither the Interior Secretary nor the tribes' gaming ordinances expressly authorized such event contracts to be offered on their lands.
Judge McKeown also rejected Kalshi's claim that the IGRA was displaced by the federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). She stated that the UIGEA doesn't cover Kalshi's event contracts.
"IGRA thus confers upon the tribes a cause of action to enjoin Kalshi’s sports event contracts on their lands," McKeown wrote in her ruling.
Kalshi vows to fight back
Lawyers representing the two California tribes were celebrating their triumph over the prediction market site.
"It's a tremendous victory for the tribes," lawyer Lee Marston told Reuters. "What Kalshi is doing is immoral. It could have easily spent a few million dollars to geofence the tribes' operations."
A Kalshi spokesperson indicated that the company is likely to continue to fight this battle in California.
“This ruling is hard to square with other federal laws, which leave regulation of on-exchange derivatives trades exclusively to the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission],” Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana said.
The appeals court ruling returns the case to U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in San Francisco. She denied the tribes a preliminary injunction in November 2025.
Robinhood is also being hurt by this California ruling
Prediction market site Robinhood is also taking a hit because of this court reversal. The company routes its event contract orders through the Kalshi platform. Robinhood officials indicated that the company will lose substantial business if it is unable to follow this procedure in California.
The company was uncertain what its next course of action would be. They are evaluating their legal options.
“Robinhood has great respect for Native American tribes and their sovereignty," Robinhood said in a statement.
In August, the Ninth Circuit court also ruled that Nevada state gaming laws overruled the federal regulations governing prediction market sites. Kalshi was ordered to geofence its sports-event contracts in Nevada. Arizona is awaiting an outcome from a similar case currently in front of the federal appeals court.