In the ongoing feud between tribal leaders and prediction market sites, the chair of the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) has called Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour, “a lying little twerp”.
An article published on Pechanga.net, a tribal news site, stated that Kalshi could now face a new lawsuit as tribal leaders become increasingly frustrated with the company.
Two weeks ago, Kalshi reported that it had held “productive conversations with several tribes”, but Victor Rocha, chair of the IGA responded by saying his two calls with Mansour were anything but productive.
“I’ve talked to Tarek Mansour twice now, and my take from him is that he’s a lying little twerp,” Rocha said.
Rocha later confirmed the comments on his X account, reiterating, “Yeah, I said it. “I’ve talked to Tarek Mansour twice now, and my take from him is that he’s a lying little twerp.””
Pechanga noted that now, “Tribal groups are leaning toward filing their own lawsuit against Kalshi.”
Tribes Join Legal Fight Against Kalshi
Tribal leaders have already joined the legal battle against Kalshi in New Jersey. The IGA rallied support from more than 60 tribes and tribal advocacy organizations to submit an amicus brief to the US District Court of Appeals in the case between Kalshi and the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE).
An IGA spokesperson commented, “Unless acted upon, the number of sports-based event contracts traded on the Derivatives/Futures market is only expected to grow, ushering in growing reason for concern for tribal gaming operators and regulators across the United States.
“It will be crucial moving forward for Tribal governments to closely follow this matter as it evolves in the CFTC and in the courts.”
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has shown no sign of reigning in the expansion of prediction markets into sports after a change in leadership under the Trump administration.
Tribes Can Enter Prediction Market Space, Say Kalshi and CFTC
Incumbent chair of the CFTC, Brian Quintenz, who is also a board member at Kalshi, commented that tribal leaders could get involved in prediction markets as nothing in the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) prevents this. Speaking at a Senate committee hearing a few weeks ago, Quintenz stated, “Nothing in the CEA that I’m aware of prohibits or affects the opportunity of tribes to offer those products and those markets and those services.”
Kalshi echoed those sentiments in the response to the Pechanga news article: “We will continue to speak with the Tribes about future prediction markets and are hopeful that we will partner together in the future,” a Kalshi spokesperson wrote in response to the story. “Nothing in the Commodity Exchange Act prohibits Tribes from continuing to operate gambling on their Tribal Sovereign lands.”
If Rocha’s comments are anything to go by, then a partnership between Kalshi and tribes looks highly unlikely in the near future. There have, however, been reports that conversations have taken place between Kalshi and online sportsbook FanDuel over a possible collaboration.
FanDuel has several partnerships with tribal groups to offer sports betting in states that require private companies to partner with tribes.
Adam is an experienced writer with years of experience in the gambling industry. He has worked as a content writer and editor for five years on sites such as Oddschecker, CoinTelegraph and Gambling Industry News, bringing excellent knowledge of the world of sports betting and online gambling. Adam focuses on emerging stories in the ever changing landscape of betting in the US. Read the latest on prediction markets, changing legislation, and sweepstakes.
