Four Native American tribes to launch prediction market apps with Kalshi
Kalshi says the model could open prediction markets to smaller, remote communities.
Key takeaway
- Four Native American tribes, three in California and one in Oklahoma, have agreed to launch tribal-branded prediction market apps with Kalshi.
- Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town (Oklahoma), Greenville Rancheria, Alturas Indian Rancheria, and Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation (all California) will each keeps ownership of its platform and control the customer-facing side, while Kalshi operates the exchange and clears trades.
- Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town Chief Wilson Yargee said the model could help smaller, geographically isolated tribes enter a growing market and earn extra revenue.
U.S.- Four Native American tribes have agreed to launch tribal-branded prediction market apps with Kalshi. The partnerships involve three tribes in California and one in Oklahoma, with each retaining ownership of its platform while Kalshi operates the underlying exchange and handles trade clearing.
The four tribes are Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma and Greenville Rancheria, Alturas Indian Rancheria and Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation in California. Of the four, only Alturas currently operates a casino. Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town Chief Wilson Yargee said the model could help smaller and geographically isolated tribes participate in a growing market and generate additional revenue.
Last month, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana became the first Native American tribe to partner with the prediction market operator. Under the new arrangements, the tribes will control the customer-facing side of their respective apps, while Kalshi will provide the exchange infrastructure. The company said its executives travelled to California to meet with tribal leaders before reaching the agreements.
The deals have drawn criticism from established tribal gaming organisations that are pursuing legal action against Kalshi. The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) has opposed Kalshi’s expansion into tribal markets. The body has also opposed the latest Senate draft of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, arguing that the legislation does not adequately protect tribal gaming authority from CFTC regulation. The association is seeking explicit language stating that federal commodities law cannot preempt state or tribal gaming statutes, including the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) as well as restrictions on designated contract markets listing contracts based on sports betting or casino games.
In Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi, the Ninth Circuit ruled in September that Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians were likely to succeed with claims that Kalshi’s sports contracts amounted to Class III gaming on tribal lands. The court found that a contract entered into by a user from tribal territory could be considered located on Indian lands and that Kalshi’s products were not authorised under the tribes’ gaming procedures.
