A coalition of federally recognized tribes and Indian regulatory bodies filed amicus briefs in two federal cases this month, arguing that allowing Kalshi and the CFTC to override state gaming laws would equally nullify tribal-state gaming compacts and strip tribes of authority to regulate prediction markets on Native land.
The group, calling itself the Tribal Amici, filed a brief opposing Kalshi's motion for a preliminary injunction in *KalshiEx LLC v. Schuler*, now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. A separate filing in the Southern District of New York backed the state's opposition to the CFTC's own preliminary injunction motion. In both briefs, the coalition argues that a ruling for Kalshi or the CFTC would amount to a "sub silentio reversal of congressional policy and Supreme Court precedent" and would "undermine existing tribal-state gaming compacts and regulatory frameworks."
Tribal gaming operates under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Tribes that have signed state gaming compacts have negotiated specific terms including minimum ages, approved game types, and revenue sharing. The coalition argues that if courts accept the CFTC's preemption claim, prediction market platforms would operate on reservation land under their own private compliance rules, bypassing both state and tribal regulation.
