A coalition of tribal organizations and federally recognized tribes is asking a federal appeals court to overturn a ruling that temporarily blocked Tennessee from enforcing its sports wagering laws against prediction market operator Kalshi.
The filing, submitted Tuesday (May 26) to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, backs Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and state officials in their challenge to a preliminary injunction granted to Kalshi. Tribal groups argue the company’s legal position would weaken tribal sovereignty, disrupt long-standing gaming regulations, and erode revenue that supports tribal governments.
The coalition includes more than 25 groups such as the Indian Gaming Association, the National Congress of American Indians, the United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, regional tribal gaming groups, and tribes from across the country. On the same day, the American Gaming Association also filed its own supporting brief.
Why the tribal coalition says the Tennessee case against Kalshi matters
According to the tribes, Congress created the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 to support “tribal economic development, self-sufficiency, and strong tribal governments.” They told the court that gaming revenue has become a critical source of funding for jobs, healthcare, housing, education, public safety, and other government services.
The brief argues that “Kalshi has brazenly entered onto state and tribal lands across the nation to conduct unregulated gaming with its so-called ‘legal sports betting’ app.” Tribal groups further contend that the company is “siphoning away vital tribal and state governmental revenue to its owners’ pockets.”
Kalshi claims that sports-event contracts offered through its platform fall under the Commodity Exchange Act and federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission rather than state gambling laws.
Sports betting in the Volunteer State is regulated to protect consumers, ensure fair play, and support public education funding priorities.
Tennessee is taking action to ensure Kalshi cannot sidestep those laws by reclassifying sports wagers as financial instruments.
➡️ Read… pic.twitter.com/l9U531aPyz
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) May 26, 2026
Tennessee strongly disputes that argument. In a separate filing, the state said federal swap regulations created after the 2008 financial crisis were intended for complex financial instruments, not sports wagering. Attorney General Skrmetti said, “Kalshi can call their bets ‘swaps’ all they want, but everyone who so much as glances at the platform understands that this is sports gambling.”
The legal battle is unfolding beyond Tennessee. Earlier filings in Ohio drew support from more than 20 tribes and several tribal associations, which argued that allowing federally regulated prediction markets to operate on tribal lands without tribal consent would upend the framework established under IGRA.
Connecticut’s Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation have also sought to join a separate federal case involving sports-event contracts. The tribes told a federal court that, “Prediction markets are currently offering wagers in Connecticut that amount to traditional sports betting in all material respects.”
The Tennessee tribal coalition warns that accepting Kalshi’s interpretation would effectively dismantle key portions of federal Indian gaming law without any clear action from Congress. The brief argues that such a result would “amount to a sub silentio reversal of congressional policy and Supreme Court precedent” while allowing the company to bypass tribal and state regulatory systems. The coalition is urging the Sixth Circuit to reverse the injunction and preserve existing gaming protections.
Featured image: Kalshi / Canva
