Judge: Ho-Chunk Likely to Block Kalshi Sports Contracts

U.S. District Judge William M. Conley ruled on May 11, 2026, that the Ho-Chunk Nation has shown a “likelihood of success” on its claim that Kalshi violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by offering sports event contracts on tribal land. The order was issued in the Western District of Wisconsin.

The Ho-Chunk Nation filed suit in August 2025 against Kalshi Inc., KalshiEX LLC, Robinhood Markets Inc. and Robinhood Derivatives LLC and asked for a preliminary injunction in December 2025 to stop the companies from offering sports-related event contracts to users on the tribe’s Indian lands while the case proceeds. Sixteen tribes filed an amicus brief supporting the Ho-Chunk position.

The tribe’s complaint includes a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claim that describes Kalshi’s business as a “Gaming Racket,” along with false advertising counts. A trial is set before Judge Conley on May 24, 2027.

Kalshi has maintained in the Wisconsin case that federal commodities law preempts IGRA, arguing that its designation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a contract market displaces tribal gaming regulation. Company lawyers point to the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act exemption for contracts traded on designated contract markets and to the CFTC self-certification process under the Commodity Exchange Act for new event contracts.

Federal courts have reached different conclusions in related cases. In November 2025 a judge in the Northern District of California denied a temporary restraining order sought by three tribes on IGRA grounds; that denial is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit. Kalshi also holds a Third Circuit-affirmed injunction in New Jersey, lost preliminary motions in Maryland, and had a Nevada injunction dissolved on review.

The Wisconsin ruling comes alongside state enforcement actions. On April 23, 2026, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed three state lawsuits in Dane County Circuit Court naming Kalshi and Robinhood, Polymarket, Crypto.com (operating as Foris Dax Markets) and Coinbase, accusing the firms of facilitating sports betting in violation of Wisconsin’s Class I felony gambling statute. At a virtual press conference, Kaul declared that “thinly disguising unlawful conduct doesn’t make it lawful” and called for the companies to be shut down from offering sports-related event contracts to Wisconsin customers.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Wisconsin and four other states, contending the states interfered with federal regulatory authority over derivatives markets.

Kalshi had not publicly responded to Judge Conley’s order at the time of publication.

The core legal question in the litigation is whether prediction-market-style sports event contracts offered on tribal lands are subject to IGRA’s restrictions on gaming unless regulated under the statute, or whether federal commodities law and CFTC oversight preempt tribal gaming regulation. The outcome of the Ho-Chunk case, the Ninth Circuit appeal and the parallel state actions will shape where and how firms may offer these contracts.