Wisconsin tribe sues Kalshi and Robinhood over alleged illegal sports betting

The Wisconsin-based Ho-Chunk Nation has launched a lawsuit against Kalshi and Robinhood, accusing the two companies of running illegal sports betting on tribal lands and seeking damages under federal racketeering laws.

In a complaint filed yesterday (20 August) in Wisconsin federal court, the tribe said Kalshi and Robinhood had offered sports wagers without a licence and in violation of its sovereign rights.

The suit asked the court to block further activity, order damages and issue rulings under both federal and tribal gaming law.

The tribe said Kalshi’s sports event-contract products amount to straightforward gambling and are not permitted on Indian land without a compact.

It also accused Robinhood of marketing the contracts as fully legal nationwide, which it said was misleading.

The news marks the latest legal complication for Kalshi, which is currently engaged in litigation with multiple state regulators that also alleges the contracts are illegal sports wagering.

Ho-Chunk Nation said: “Kalshi, no surprise, does not call its sports betting offerings sports gambling. Rather, Kalshi will tell the Court that it is a Designated Contract Market, regulated exclusively by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (‘CFTC’), and is merely operating a ‘prediction market’ that permits the buying and selling of ‘commodities contracts,’ or swaps on sporting events.

“It is simply gambling on sports. And it is offered, unabashedly, by Kalshi, to the public, as such, even within states and Indian reservations that strictly prohibit sports betting.”

Kalshi suit: tribe cites loss of control and revenue

The tribe argued that by making sports markets available on its lands, Kalshi and Robinhood undermined its ability to regulate gambling and took money away from its licensed sportsbook operations.

It said the companies had not put in place geolocation or other restrictions that would prevent access from tribal territory.

Ho-Chunk Nation also pointed to advertising and product descriptions that it said misled customers about the legal status of the offering.

The complaint cited phrases such as “The First Nationwide Legal Sports Betting Platform” and “Legal in all 50 states,” and referenced cease-and-desist letters from state regulators earlier this year.

The filing said Kalshi had processed more than 5.2 million trades on sports contracts in 2025, worth around $1.6bn in total.

The suit asked the court to issue injunctions under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, to declare that the companies’ conduct was unlawful, and to award damages under both the Lanham Act and civil RICO statutes.

Kalshi has been regulated as a designated contract market since 2020. The company self-certified sports markets in January this year, arguing that its contracts are legitimate financial products rather than gambling.

The complaint said that step was improper and violated long-standing federal restrictions on contracts linked to gaming.

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