A federal judge in Wisconsin has found that the Ho-Chunk Nation is likely to succeed in blocking Kalshi from offering sports event contracts on tribal land under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), in what appears to be the first ruling of its kind against the prediction-market operator.
Key Takeaways:
Judge Conley issued first federal IGRA ruling siding with tribe against Kalshi on May 11, 2026.Wisconsin ruling reverses November 2025 California precedent that denied three tribes a similar block.Ho-Chunk case includes RICO claim against Kalshi and Robinhood; trial date set for May 24, 2027.The order reverses the dominant federal court pattern from earlier tribal challenges to Kalshi and signals the first federal precedent siding with tribes in the operator’s nationwide IGRA litigation.
Kalshi has not yet publicly responded to Conley’s Monday ruling at the time of publication. The decision adds to a fragmented federal landscape of preliminary rulings on Kalshi sports event contracts, with the company holding a Third Circuit-affirmed injunction in New Jersey while losing similar motions in Maryland and seeing its Nevada injunction dissolved on review.
