Massive Tribal Support for Ohio Lawsuit Against Kalshi
Jesse M. Cox Published 12/06/2026
It's good to know you can count on your friends in your time of need, and that's exactly how Ohio's tribes must be feeling right about now. Embroiled in a lawsuit against prediction market site Kalshi in an Ohio Sixth Circuit court, Ohio's tribal leaders received a legal vote of support from their brotherhood.
A group of 30 Native American tribes and 11 tribal associations combined to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the Ohio action against Kalshi. Kalshi has filed an appeal against a preliminary injunction that was granted in Ohio's favor by federal district court judge Sarah Morrison.
Ohio won the first round of this battle with Kalshi
In March, Judge Morrison ruled in Ohio's favor. Citing that she was obligated to "avoid absurdity" in ruling that Kalshi's prediction market sports-event contracts amount to acts of gambling. And that means they should be classified under the same state regulations as the popular online sports betting sites that are operating in Ohio.
"This conclusion is further supported by the Court’s obligation to avoid absurdity," Judge Morrison wrote in her ruling. "Ohio argues that absurd results would flow from defining a 'swap' to include a sports-event contract. The Court agrees."
In a post on the social media site X, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost welcomed the news. "Kalshi argued the federal Commodity Exchange Act preempts enforcement of Ohio law. Nope," he posted. "These 'prediction markets' have exploded and look an awful lot like gambling. Big win for Ohio!"
Yost hit Kalshi with a $5 million fine for illegal sports betting.
Naturally, Kalshi's lawyers begged to differ when it came to the court's decision. The prediction market company made note of the fact that a federal judge in Tennessee went in Kalshi's favor in a similar ruling only weeks earlier.
“We respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision, which splits from a decision from a federal court in Tennessee just a few weeks ago, and will promptly seek an appeal," a Kalshi spokesperson said.
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator overseeing prediction market sites like Kalshi, immediately began counterpunching. In mid-May, the CFTC filed its own amicus brief, backing Kalshi's case. They are supporting Kalshi's appeal of the ruling.
The Tribal Amicus Brief is backing the previous ruling
In their Amicus Brief, the tribal organizations note that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has not been repealed. That agreement with federal and state governments gives tribes exclusive control of all gaming taking place on tribal land.
The brief goes on to point out that Congress does not permit
"America’s history is replete with prospectors taking resources from Indian lands without permission from tribes. But Congress put a stop to that practice long ago," the brief notes.
"Yet Kalshi would have this Court believe that, without so much as a whisper of legislative intent, Congress gave it permission to enter Indian lands and siphon gaming revenues away from tribes over their objections. Congress did no such thing."
Google is also siding with Ohio
In another potential blow to Kalshi's appeal process, Google, the world's largest provider of internet search engines, has blocked all prediction market advertising from Ohio users.
"In June 2026, Google will update our Prediction markets policy in the United States to prohibit the advertisement of prediction markets contracts and related products ads in Ohio," the company announced.
"Consequently, advertising of prediction markets and related products in Ohio is prohibited effective June 2, 2026."