Kalshi Sports Contracts Banned On Two California Tribes’ Lands As Judge Issues Injunction

A federal judge issued the first injunction banning Kalshi’s sports contracts on tribal lands Wednesday, preventing it from offering those contracts on the lands of the Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians in California.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued the order after her earlier denial of the injunction was overturned by an appellate court.

It says Kalshi is “enjoined from offering on the Tribes’ Indian lands any sports contracts, including, but not limited to, contracts that facially involve, relate to, or reference the sports of baseball, tennis, pickleball, soccer, basketball, football, golf, chess, esports, hockey, motorsports, boxing, wrestling, and Ultimate Fighting Championship events.”

Reverses original decision

Initially, Corley had ruled in Kalshi’s favor. In oral arguments, and then in her opinion, she expressed the view that Kalshi’s sports contracts did appear to be an attempt to circumvent the spirit of gambling laws, but found that the contracts were not actually in violation of a tribal compact or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

However, the tribes appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which overturned Corley’s initial denial of the injunction, ruling that the tribes were likely to win on the merits. That sent the case back down to the district court. With the Ninth Circuit determining that the merits of the case favored the tribes, Corley then had to examine whether the balance of harms in issuing or not issuing an injunction affected the decision.

Corley granted the injunction. The order did not explain the reasons for doing so. 

Kalshi said it had already voluntarily geofenced the tribes’ lands in September. However, according to a joint status report to the court, a member of the Blue Lake Rancheria Gaming Commission placed a bet on the Kalshi App while on the Blue Lake Rancheria land, “illustrating that plaintiffs will need access to GeoComply and have a court-ordered process in place that will allow the Tribes to independently verify whether Kalshi is in fact geofencing the Tribes’ reservations.” 

Next steps

Kalshi must provide the court with maps of the areas it is geofencing by Nov. 13 and provide a report on the steps it has taken to comply with the injunction by Nov. 25.   

The Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians had also been part of the original lawsuit, but later withdrew.

Now that Kalshi has been banned on two tribes’ lands, other tribes may seek similar injunctions.