Ho-Chunk Nation officials are applauding a judge’s decision this month to allow the tribe’s lawsuit against online prediction markets to move forward.
Judge William Conley for the U.S. District Court in Green Bay denied Kalshi, Inc.’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit against it by the Ho-Chunk Nation, in part, on May 11.
Conley said the Ho-Chunk Nation has a right to allege Kalshi’s online gambling operation in Wisconsin violates the tribal-state gaming compact. While Kalshi or other prediction markets are not physically located in Wisconsin, users on tribal lands can still access their apps.
“The Ho-Chunk Nation has consistently maintained that tribal governments retain the sovereign authority to regulate gaming within our districts,” said Ho-Chunk President Jon Greendeer in a statement. “This decision confirms that tribal sovereignty and (the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act) protections do not disappear simply because private entities attempt to rebrand gambling.”
Conley did approve Kalshi’s motion to dismiss Ho-Chunk’s complaint it participated in racketeering and violated the “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” (RICO) meant to fight organized crime. Conley said that claim by the tribe “goes too far.”
The Ho-Chunk Nation sued Kalshi and another online prediction market, Robinhood, last August for what it calls illegal online sports gambling, which can potentially take revenue away from the tribe.
On April 23, the Wisconsin Department of Justice filed similar separate lawsuits against the online prediction market companies, also saying they are illegal in the state. Wisconsin joins Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois, which have filed similar lawsuits against the companies.
A Kalshi spokesperson said the company will vigorously defend itself and argues the prediction market is governed by federal regulations alone.
On April 28, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal entity regulating prediction markets, sued Wisconsin attempting to block its lawsuits against the companies. On April 2, the Trump administration sued the three other states, arguing their efforts interfere with federal jurisdiction.
Conley also ruled May 11 that federal commodities regulations do not override tribal gaming authority.
“This case is larger than one tribe or company,” Greendeer said in a statement. “It concerns the future of tribal regulatory authority in the digital age.”
Meanwhile in April, the Wisconsin Legislature legalized a path toward tribally controlled online sports gambling, provided the servers that operate the apps are located on tribal lands.
Greendeer told the Journal Sentinel a lot still has to be worked out before state legalized online sports gambling becomes a reality in Wisconsin. For example, he doesn’t think it would be practical for each of the 11 federally recognized tribal nations within Wisconsin to have its own app. Greendeer envisions two or three apps the tribes can possibly work together on.
Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe President John Johnson confirmed with the Journal Sentinel his tribe wants to make sure the process is fair and not have only the financially larger tribal nations, such as Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi, control the entire online sports gambling market in Wisconsin.
Greendeer expects Ho-Chunk’s lawsuit against Kalshi and Robinhood will be decided in court sometime next year.
Frank Vaisvilas is a former Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact him at fvaisvilas@usatodayco.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on X at @vaisvilas_frank.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ho-Chunk lawsuit against Kalshi, online gambling can move forward
Reporting by Frank Vaisvilas, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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