Ninth Circuit classifies Kalshi sports event contracts as IGRA class III gaming on tribal lands
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that Kalshi sports event contracts constitute class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act on tribal lands. The September decision follows an earlier August ruling in the same circuit. Kalshi has now blocked access to its platform on three California tribal lands. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley was named in the case history. Robinhood was also involved as a co-defendant in related tribal litigation.
Kalshi now faces geofenced exclusion from tribal lands in three California jurisdictions, with each new fence shrinking its addressable market. Tribes in other states can point to this Ninth Circuit reasoning to file copycat suits. Robinhood shares identical exposure as a co-defendant in related litigation.
The circuit split with Kalshi's Sixth Circuit loss on state gambling law makes Supreme Court review more plausible, but cert grants are rare and delay risks more tribal bans. Kalshi must fight parallel battles on two fronts now: state law in the Sixth Circuit and tribal jurisdiction in the Ninth. Legal spend compounds faster than any single resolution. Traders hold positions whose validity shifts with geography, not regulation.