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Checked Oct. 21, 2026

Tribe v. operator

Blue Lake Rancheria, et al. v. Kalshi, Inc., et al.

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (on remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit), 3:25-cv-06162-JSC (N.D. Cal.); 25-7504 (9th Cir.)

Remanded

On Sept. 16, 2026 a Ninth Circuit panel found the two remaining tribes likely to succeed on their IGRA claim, reversed the denial of a preliminary injunction on that claim, and sent the case back to Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley to weigh the other injunction factors. The mandate was entered in the district court on Oct. 8, 2026 and a case-management conference was set for Oct. 21, 2026; its outcome was not available. No injunction has issued. A litigation tracker reports that Kalshi has voluntarily geofenced the three tribes' lands (date not given).

The question

Whether sports event contracts sold through a CFTC-registered exchange to people located on tribal lands are class III gaming that tribes can stop under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act notwithstanding the Commodity Exchange Act.

Three California tribes sued Kalshi and its retail distributor Robinhood in July 2025, arguing that sports event contracts offered to people on their reservations are unauthorized class III gaming under IGRA and also pleading false-advertising and racketeering theories. The district court denied a preliminary injunction in November 2025, finding the tribes had not shown a likelihood of success on that record. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that the contracts are likely class III gaming, that the wager occurs where the bettor is located, and that neither the CEA nor UIGEA displaces IGRA, while leaving the Lanham Act ruling in place. The Picayune Rancheria withdrew in August 2026 before the appellate decision.

Docket timeline

  1. Tribal amici, including the Cabazon Band of Cahuilla Indians and a group of 145 tribes and tribal organizations, filed amicus briefs at the U.S. Supreme Court in the Flaherty/KalshiEX cert proceeding (No. 26-299, New Jersey's petition from the Third Circuit), which is tracked as a separate state-v-operator case. A docket tracker reports amicus briefs in that docket were filed between Oct. 6 and Oct. 9; exact dates for the tribal briefs were not confirmed.

    Source: defirate.com

  2. The Ninth Circuit's mandate was entered on the district-court docket (Doc. 99), and the clerk set a further case-management conference by Zoom for Oct. 21, 2026.

    Source: defirate.com

  3. Ninth Circuit opinion (Judge McKeown, joined by Chief Judge Murguia and Judge Paez) reversed the preliminary-injunction denial as to the IGRA claim, affirmed as to the Lanham Act claim, and remanded for the district court to weigh the remaining injunction factors.

    Source: buchalter.com

  4. The district court approved a joint stipulation dismissing the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians from the case and appeal; no reason was given (reported Aug. 13, 2026).

    Source: sportsbettingdime.com

  5. The Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in San Francisco.

    Source: leagle.com

  6. Judge Corley stayed the district-court case until the Ninth Circuit decided both this appeal (No. 25-7504) and KalshiEX v. Assad (No. 25-7516), the Nevada case argued April 16, 2026.

    Source: narf.org

  7. The Ninth Circuit denied the tribes' motion to assign the appeal to the panel hearing North American Derivatives Exchange v. Nevada (No. 25-7187), citing significant differences between the appeals.

    Source: dockets.justia.com

  8. Law360 reported that the district court asked the parties to address whether the case should be paused pending Ninth Circuit rulings in the Nevada prediction-market litigation (exact order date not confirmed); the court later stayed the case on May 22, 2026.

    Source: law360.com

  9. The tribes' appeal of the preliminary-injunction denial was docketed in the Ninth Circuit as No. 25-7504.

    Source: dockets.justia.com

  10. Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied the tribes' motion for a preliminary injunction, finding they had not shown a likelihood of success on their IGRA or Lanham Act theories on the existing record.

    Source: ingame.com

  11. Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria and Picayune Rancheria sued Kalshi and Robinhood in the Northern District of California, seeking an injunction against sports contracts on tribal lands and damages.

    Source: tribalbusinessnews.com

Sources

  1. Ninth Circuit opinion, Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, No. 25-7504 (Leagle)
  2. District court order staying the case, Doc. 87 (2026-05-22) (NARF National Indian Law Library)
  3. Justia Dockets: Ninth Circuit No. 25-7504
  4. Buchalter client alert (2026-09-21)
  5. SBC Americas (2026-09-17)
  6. Sports Betting Dime (2026-09-16)
  7. Sports Betting Dime: Picayune drops out (2026-08-13)
  8. InGame: court rejects tribal injunction (2025-11)
  9. Tribal Business News: complaint filed (2025-07-23)
  10. Law360 (2026-04-21)
  11. Gambling Insider (2026-05-12)
  12. DeFi Rate prediction-market legal tracker snapshot (2026-10-11)
  13. U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 26-299
  14. DeFi Rate prediction-market legal tracker (current page, read 2026-10-22)
  15. Mick Bransfield prediction-market litigation tracker (updated 2026-10-21)