Four Native American tribes launch prediction market apps with Kalshi
The deals with tribes in California and Oklahoma follow a similar partnership announced last month.
Four more tribal nations are entering the prediction market business with Kalshi. The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma and three tribes in California, the Greenville Rancheria, Alturas Indian Rancheria and Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, have agreed to launch their own branded apps. Each tribe will own its platform and control the customer-facing side of the business, including branding and marketing. Kalshi will operate the underlying exchange infrastructure, providing trade matching, clearing and market surveillance. The partnerships follow a similar deal announced last month with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said the agreements show a path to new revenue. "More tribes are recognizing that federally regulated prediction markets offer a real path to new, sustainable revenue," Mansour said. "Prediction markets and Tribal economic development don’t have to be at odds. They can grow together." The apps will be named PokkeTrades, Greenville, Sovereign Edge and AIR Markets, Inc. Only the Alturas Indian Rancheria currently operates a casino.
Leaders from the partnering tribes framed the move as an exercise of sovereignty and a solution to geographic limitations. "Geography has kept many tribes from sharing in the prosperity that gaming created," said Chief Wilson Yargee of the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town. "Prediction markets offer an opportunity to reach beyond those limits and build revenue for our people." Michael Stopp, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and vice president of economic development for the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, said the markets offer a chance for tribes left out of lucrative gaming markets to participate in an emerging industry.
READ MORE: Casa Italia to launch as dedicated Italian hub at ICE Barcelona 2027
READ MORE: Oyo Hotel & Casino suspends alcohol sales for second time in a year
The deals have drawn immediate criticism from established tribal gaming organizations. The Indian Gaming Association has opposed Kalshi's expansion into tribal markets. IGA Executive Director Jason Giles told the New York Post that "Kalshi is clearly targeting smaller tribes that have limited, if any, options and selling them snake oil." The California Nations Indian Gaming Association also condemned the move. "The decision by several California Tribal Nations to partner with Kalshi is disappointing, but it doesn’t change the fact that this activity is still illegal," a CNIGA spokesperson said.
The legal dispute centers on whether Kalshi's products are gambling or financial instruments. Tribal gaming groups argue the company's sports contracts constitute unauthorized Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Kalshi describes its products as "event contracts" and "swaps" overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In September, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of two California tribes in a case against Kalshi, finding its sports contracts likely amounted to illegal gaming on tribal lands.
Eric Wright, CEO of the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation's economic development authority, said the partnership is about self-determination. "The digital commodities marketplace gives us an opportunity to build beyond those limits," Wright said. "Economic self-determination means having the authority to evaluate emerging opportunities and decide for ourselves what serves the long-term interests of our Nation." Tribal gaming generated $46.2 billion in 2025, but revenue is concentrated, with 9 percent of operations bringing in 56 percent of the total.