Federal Judge Blocks Kalshi Sports Contracts on California Tribal Lands

TL;DR

• A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction preventing Kalshi from offering sports-event contracts on the lands of two California tribes, including contracts tied to football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis and UFC events.
• The tribes must provide boundary maps by November 13, while Kalshi has 21 days to report its compliance steps.
• The injunction follows a Ninth Circuit reversal finding the tribes likely to succeed on their IGRA claims in litigation.

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi from offering sports-event contracts on the lands of two California tribes. Under the court order, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley barred the platform from making those products available within Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians territory. The order places a geographic restriction on Kalshi’s sports markets while the litigation continues. The ruling adds a constraint around Kalshi and its event-contract model.

Ninth Circuit Reversal Leads to Tribal Injunction

The injunction covers contracts tied to football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis and Ultimate Fighting Championship events. The tribes must provide Kalshi with maps identifying their land boundaries by November 13, while Kalshi must report within 21 days on steps to comply. The order therefore turns the appellate decision into an operational obligation, requiring the platform to prevent access to covered sports contracts from the affected tribal lands.

The dispute began in July 2025, when the tribes sued Kalshi and alleged that its sports-event contracts amount to unauthorized Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and violate their gaming ordinances. Kalshi has argued that its products are federally regulated swaps governed by the Commodity Exchange Act, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission holding exclusive jurisdiction. That federal-preemption argument sits at the center of broader legal disputes over prediction markets, including litigation involving sports contracts in Washington.

Corley initially denied the tribes’ request for a preliminary injunction in November 2025. The tribes appealed, and a Ninth Circuit panel partially reversed that decision in September 2026. The appellate panel concluded that the tribes were likely to succeed on claims that Kalshi’s sports contracts on tribal lands violated IGRA and their gaming ordinances. It also held that the Commodity Exchange Act’s grant of exclusive jurisdiction did not extend to these sports-event contracts, sharpening questions around federal oversight of prediction markets.

The injunction implements that appellate outcome at the district-court level, but it remains preliminary rather than a final judgment resolving every claim. Kalshi is now required to comply with the territorial restriction while the litigation proceeds. The decision lands amid wider scrutiny of whether sports-linked event contracts should be treated as federally regulated derivatives or subject to gambling restrictions, a debate reflected in legal challenges involving professional sports.