A federal judge bars Kalshi from offering sports contracts on two California tribes' lands, the first preliminary injunction tribes have won against Kalshi

A federal judge in California has barred Kalshi from offering sports contracts on the lands of two tribes, The Block reported on Friday. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted the preliminary injunction in a Wednesday order, covering football, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis and UFC contracts on the lands of Blue Lake Rancheria and the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians. Law360's headline on the ruling said the tribes won it after a Ninth Circuit reversal.

The tribes must submit maps of their boundaries by November 13, and Kalshi must report on its compliance steps within 21 days. Attorney Daniel Wallach called it the first preliminary injunction tribes have secured against Kalshi nationwide, "a major development in tribal gaming litigation." The Block said it had not received a response from Kalshi.

The tribes sued in July 2025, arguing the contracts are unauthorized gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Kalshi says they are federally regulated swaps under the Commodity Exchange Act, so the CFTC's exclusive jurisdiction overrides tribal gaming law. The judge denied the tribes' first injunction request in November 2025, but in September a Ninth Circuit panel partially reversed, finding the tribes likely to succeed and that the Commodity Exchange Act's exclusive jurisdiction does not cover these sports contracts. The order arrives as Arkansas sues Kalshi and Utah pursues criminal charges.