Judge Bans Kalshi Sports Contracts on Two California Tribes’ Land

• U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against Kalshi in certain California tribal lands
• Kalshi will be barred from offering sports event contracts on Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians tribal land
• The judge originally denied the preliminary injunction request in November 2025, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision

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U.S. District Court Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction motion from the Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians tribes to prohibit Kalshi sports event contracts on their tribal land.

U.S. District Court Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley today granted the preliminary injunction motion, effectively barring Kalshi sports event contracts from the two California tribes’ land.

Judge Corley originally denied the preliminary injunction motion in November 2025, but a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the decision this past September.

Sports Event Contract Ban Goes Into Effect

The approved preliminary injunction is the first awarded to tribes to prohibit sports event contracts on tribal land.

Corley’s approval of the preliminary injunction immediately goes into effect. The notice prohibits Kalshi from offering on the tribes’ Indian lands any sports contracts, including, but not limited to, contracts involving baseball, tennis, pickleball, soccer, basketball, football, golf, chess, esports, hockey, motorsports, boxing, wrestling, and UFC events.

Both the Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians tribes will be required to provide Kalshi with maps delineating the boundaries of their land by Nov. 13, 2026, for geofencing purposes.

Kalshi will have to provide the court with an update of its progress to comply with the injunction within the next 21 days.

Original Motion Denied

The tribes filed their lawsuit on July 22, 2025, against Kalshi in U.S. District Court of Northern District of California seeking a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent them “from engaging in illegal sports gambling on the tribes’ respective reservations in direct violation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.”

The lawsuit contended that both Kalshi and Robinhood’s conduct in California is unlawful class III gaming activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1166, which governs illegal gambling in Indian country, and is therefore subject to injunctive relief under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).

Judge Corley denied the tribal motion for a preliminary injunction in November 2025, which prompted the tribes to appeal the court’s decision with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in September 2026 reversed in part the denial of a preliminary injunction motion from the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s order denying a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, both California tribes. The panel reported the tribes were likely to succeed in claims that Kalshi’s sports event contracts on tribal lands violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) and tribal gaming ordinances.

“Because the panel concluded that the tribes were likely to prevail on their claims under IGRA, it remanded as to that claim with instructions to reach the remaining factors for evaluating the tribes’ motion for a preliminary injunction,” the panel reported.

The panel noted that in its view the sports event contracts do indeed constitute Class III gaming.

“In practice, what Kalshi labels ‘sports event contracts’ neatly track the activities described in IGRA and its implementing regulations. The similarities between a sports event contract, which even Kalshi calls ‘sports betting,’ and a traditional sports wager are overwhelming,” they wrote.

The Ninth Circuit’s conclusion is reinforced by the Department of Interior’s compact review regulation, the judges noted, which defines gaming activity as “the conduct of Class III gaming involving the three required elements of chance, consideration, and prize or reward.”

One Original Tribe Withdrew From Lawsuit

Originally, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, Blue Lake Rancheria, and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians filed a lawsuit for injunctive relief and fiscal damages against Kalshi, alleging the prediction market company engaged in illegal gaming on tribal land.

This past August, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians removed themselves from the proceedings.