TLDR The Ninth Circuit rejected California tribes’ request to combine their Kalshi/Robinhood appeal with a related Nevada prediction market case Three California tribes sued Kalshi and Robinhood in 2025, alleging illegal sports betting on tribal lands A federal judge had previously ruled in favor of Kalshi, saying federal commodity law governs event contracts Kalshi is trying to pause Washington state’s lawsuit while it appeals a federal judge’s decision to send the case back to state court Kalshi warned that letting state and federal cases run at the same time could create “judicial chaos”
West Coast prediction market battles took two separate paths last week. The Ninth Circuit rejected a tribal request to combine appeals, and Kalshi moved to freeze a Washington state lawsuit.
Three California tribes had asked the Ninth Circuit to assign their appeal to the same panel hearing a related Nevada prediction market case. The tribes are Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians.
They argued the cases share overlapping legal questions about how event-based contracts are regulated under the Commodity Exchange Act. Combining them, the tribes said, would save time and court resources.
But the Ninth Circuit said no. In a brief order on May 6, the court pointed to major differences between the tribal appeal and the North American Derivatives Exchange lawsuit tied to Crypto.com.
The court wrote that reassigning the appeal was denied due to those differences. The tribes will now proceed on their own track.
Tribes Alleged Illegal Sports Betting on Tribal Lands
The tribes first sued Kalshi and Robinhood in July 2025. They claimed the two companies were running illegal sports betting operations that reached tribal lands.
Their case centered on the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The tribes argued the companies