New Mexico Pueblos File Lawsuit Against Kalshi, Allege Violating Tribal Gaming Laws

According to Source NM, three New Mexico pueblos have filed a lawsuit against Kalshi, a prediction market platform, alleging that its app enables sports betting on tribal land and, as a result, violates their tribal gaming sovereignty and compacts under federal law. 

The plaintiffs in the case include the Mescalero Apache Tribe, as well as the Pojoaque, Sandia, and Isleta Pueblos. They're alleging that because Kalshi allows anyone over 18 to access sports gambling, it deprives them of revenues for schools and other services. 

“The use of prediction markets for gambling purposes diverts essential revenue away from our governments, provides an end-run around regulation of gaming on our lands, and allows gaming by underage people,” Sandia Pueblo Gov. Stuart Paisano said in a statement. 

Right now, New Mexico and federal law state that only people 21 and older may gamble at tribal-owned casinos. 

Tribes Claim Kalshi Violates Federal Gaming Laws

In the lawsuit filed by a Washington-based law firm representing the pueblos, the plaintiffs say that Kalshi should have a geofence to prevent the app from being used within tribal boundaries. Further, it adds that because it's operating on the land, it's violating the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and also "infringing on tribal rights to self-determination that the United States Supreme Court first recognized in 1987," Source NM says. 

This is far from the first lawsuit filed against Kalshi, as a Wisconsin tribe and three Californian tribes did the same thing in 2025. 

The lawsuit cites various pieces of evidence, including that people can wager on New Mexico Lobos basketball games. 

Tribal Leaders Push Back Against Prediction Markets

Last July, Mescalero Apache Tribe Vice President Duane Duffy asked state lawmakers to do something about prediction markets. In their announcement of the lawsuit on Wednesday, Duffy said that other tribes and pueblos in the state have “fought hard to protect their inherent sovereign right to operate and regulate casinos on tribal lands. We cannot sit by idly as the laws that enshrine this right are ignored.”

Source NM says that 14 tribes and pueblos in New Mexico reported generating over $266 million in "adjusted net win" in the last quarter of 2025, but adds that it's clear from the New Mexico Gaming Control Board how much of that amount is attributable to sports betting.