U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley has granted a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi from offering sports event contracts on the lands of Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, reversing her own earlier stance after an appeals court told her to take another look. The order covers a sweeping list of sports and events, from baseball, tennis and pickleball to esports, motorsports, boxing, wrestling and UFC contracts, effectively shutting the prediction-market platform out of those tribal territories for now.
The ruling marks a major reversal for Corley, who had previously denied the tribes' request for an injunction, according to InGame. At that earlier stage, Corley found that Kalshi's contracts did not violate a tribal compact or the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, even as she reportedly viewed the contracts as appearing to circumvent the spirit of gambling laws. The tribes appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which sided with them.
Ninth Circuit Reversal Sends the Case Back
The Ninth Circuit ruled that the tribes were likely to succeed on the merits of their case and sent the matter back to the district court for further review, as reported by Courthouse News. The appellate panel concluded that Kalshi's sports event contracts amount to class III gaming under federal law — the most heavily regulated category of tribal gaming. Courthouse News reported the panel's finding plainly: “Its sports event contracts are class III gaming.”
On remand, Corley was tasked with weighing the remaining factors needed to justify an injunction, including whether the balance of harms favored the tribes. Those factors, per the Ninth Circuit's own opinion, required the district court to consider the tribes' preliminary-injunction motion specifically on their claim under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The injunction order itself reportedly did not spell out the judge's reasoning for granting it.
A Disputed Bet Became a Flashpoint
Kalshi had said it voluntarily geofenced the tribes' lands beginning in September, but the effectiveness of that move became a point of contention. A joint status report in the case noted that a member of the Blue Lake Rancheria Gaming Commission placed a bet on the Kalshi app while physically on Blue Lake Rancheria land — an incident the report said illustrated the tribes' need for GeoComply access and a court-ordered process to independently verify Kalshi's geofencing.
Under the new order, Kalshi must provide the court with maps of the areas it is geofencing by November 13, and must submit a report on the steps it has taken to comply with the injunction by November 25. The outlet The Defiant similarly described a 21-day compliance-reporting window tied to the dispute over the voluntary location blocks.
Not All Tribes Are United on Kalshi
The case has not drawn uniform tribal opposition. Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians withdrew from the original lawsuit, and reporting indicates other tribes may now pursue similar injunctions against Kalshi following this outcome. Attorney Daniel Wallach reportedly noted that California tribes have become the first in the nation to secure a preliminary injunction of this kind against Kalshi.
The split reflects a broader divide playing out among tribes nationally. Hundreds of tribes have been pushing back against the prediction-market industry over concerns tied to sovereignty and gaming revenue, according to KHQ. At the same time, some tribes have weighed partnerships with Kalshi, which has offered an arrangement letting a tribe own its own app and manage its brand and customer relationships while Kalshi runs the underlying exchange, the station reported.
A Patchwork of Rulings Across the Country
The California fight is unfolding against a backdrop of inconsistent federal court outcomes for Kalshi nationwide. A year earlier, in November 2025, a federal district court in California had declined to block Kalshi from offering event contracts on tribal lands at all, according to VitalLaw — a result the Ninth Circuit later reversed in part on the injunction question.
Courthouse News also noted that federal appellate courts have landed in different places on related questions: in April, the Third Circuit determined that states cannot regulate prediction markets because that authority belongs exclusively to federal regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Meanwhile, a three-judge Second Circuit panel this week denied motions from Kalshi and Coinbase seeking an injunction pending appeal in separate cases brought by New York and Connecticut, according to InGame. Those states' underlying suits remain on hold while the appeals courts weigh in.
