Four Native American tribes in New Mexico filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against prediction market platform Kalshi, claiming the New York-based company has been running an illegal sports gambling operation across tribal territories without authorization, according to Source New Mexico.
Key Takeaways
- Four New Mexico tribes sue Kalshi, alleging unauthorized sports betting across tribal lands and jurisdictions.
- The lawsuit says Kalshi allowed 18-and-older access despite tribal gambling rules requiring age 21.
- Tribes want Kalshi blocked from their lands and civil penalties for alleged ordinance violations.
The plaintiffs, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, along with the Pojoaque, Sandia, and Isleta Pueblos, filed their complaint in the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. At the center of the dispute is whether Kalshi, which markets itself as a federally regulated financial exchange, is actually conducting sports betting through its prediction markets that fall under the exclusive purview of tribal governments.
The tribes argue Kalshi has been accessible to anyone on their lands with a smartphone and an age of at least 18. This minimum directly conflicts with tribal gaming ordinances that set the legal gambling age at 21.
Beyond the age discrepancy, the complaint asserts Kalshi's presence cuts into revenue streams that fund tribal schools, government services, and other public programs under compacts negotiated with the state over nearly three decades.
As evidence, the lawsuit includes a screenshot of the app accepting a bet on a University of New Mexico Lobos game against New Mexico State last November. The filing argues Kalshi could have implemented location-based technology to block access within tribal boundaries but chose not to.
The tribes are seeking a court order to terminate Kalshi's access to sports betting on their lands and are requesting civil penalties for what they describe as willful violations of tribal gaming ordinances.
New Mexico's 14 tribes and pueblos collectively reported more than $266 million in net gaming revenue in the final quarter of 2025.
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Wisconsin court sides with tribes
In more prediction market news this week, a U.S. District Court judge in Wisconsin ruled that a lawsuit brought by the Ho-Chunk Nation against Kalshi could proceed. He concluded the tribe had demonstrated a genuine likelihood of prevailing on its core claims under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.
The Ho-Chunk Nation sued Kalshi and its platform partner, Robinhood, in August 2025, alleging the companies are offering sports-event contracts on tribal land without consent. Sixteen other tribal nations backed the Ho-Chunk position by filing supporting legal briefs.
Kalshi sought dismissal, arguing its status as a designated contract market regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission placed its products beyond the reach of tribal gaming laws. The judge found the argument insufficient to kill the case. A trial is currently scheduled for May 2027.
The ruling breaks from an earlier November 2025 decision in California where a federal judge declined to block Kalshi in a similar challenge brought by three tribes. The California case is now under appeal before the Ninth Circuit.
