Indian Gaming Association sets up litigation fund targeting CFTC
Table of contents
- The Indian Gaming Association launched a litigation fund at its annual convention, targeting the CFTC for enabling unregulated sports betting through prediction market platforms.
- IGA’s board adopted a formal resolution opposing sports event contracts, calling on Congress to clarify that such activities fall under tribal and state gaming jurisdiction.
- The association is pursuing parallel legal and legislative strategies, including coordinating with the American Gaming Association and state attorneys general.
The Indian Gaming Association (IGA) has escalated its battle against prediction markets, announcing plans to raise between $3 million and $5 million to file a lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal agency that has authorized sports event contracts to operate nationally without tribal or state approval.
The announcement came at the opening of the IGA’s annual trade show and convention in San Diego on March 31, which was dominated by a four-hour workshop examining the legal, financial, and sovereignty implications of prediction markets for tribal gaming.
Unified front
IGA Chairman David Z. Bean said the association is pursuing a parallel path of litigation and legislation, with Congress having introduced bipartisan bills that would prohibit sports betting and casino games on prediction market platforms.
“Today, our Board took decisive action to protect what generations before us fought to build,” Bean said. “These so-called prediction markets are an attempt to bypass tribal authority and recast gambling as a financial product. We will not allow that. We will stand united to defend tribal sovereignty and the integrity of Indian gaming.”
The IGA’s Board of Directors adopted a formal resolution opposing efforts to regulate event contracts, including sports-related prediction markets.
The resolution calls on Congress to clarify that sports contracts are gambling activities regulated by tribes and states, and urges tribal governments nationwide to submit formal comments opposing the CFTC’s proposed rulemaking ahead of the April 30 deadline.
“This is federal overreach, plain and simple,” Bean said. “When outside entities attempt to operate gambling under a different name, without respect for our laws, our compacts, or our sovereignty, we have a responsibility to act. And that is exactly what this Board has done.”
The legal case
The planned lawsuit will allege the CFTC is not enforcing its own regulations prohibiting sports betting. IGA leaders also argue the platforms may be in breach of additional federal statutes, including the Wire Act and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Tribal gaming generated $43.9 billion in revenue in FY 2024, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission, funding essential government services, healthcare, education, and infrastructure for tribal nations.
IGA contends that prediction market platforms are eroding that revenue base by operating sports wagering in all 50 states, including those where sports betting is not otherwise legal, without age verification, consumer protections, or the licensing obligations that govern tribal operations.
Jason Giles, Executive Director of the Indian Gaming Association, said the fund would go the distance.
“The litigation fund will be as big as it needs to be to last for years and also to put this back in the box,” he said.
Tribal governments in both California and Wisconsin have already sued prediction market operator Kalshi in federal court, alleging its sports event contracts violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribal-state compacts, and federal advertising laws.
The Arizona Attorney General has filed a civil suit against Kalshi, and Nevada has secured a state court injunction blocking the platform from offering sports betting in the state.
Congress and the Coalition
Tribal leaders acknowledged the legislative path will be difficult. Many members of Congress are reluctant to challenge the Trump Administration, with Donald Trump Jr. working on behalf of the prediction market industry.
Bean said one lawmaker described the situation as a choice between friends.
This is not a choice between friends,” he responded. “It’s a choice between following and ignoring the law.”
James Siva, chair of the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, said the fundraising effort is already gaining momentum among tribal leaders. IGA has aligned itself with the American Gaming Association, Republican state leaders, and organizations that have not always been allies on tribal gaming issues.
The association has also engaged Congress directly, calling for legislation to prevent prediction market contracts from being used as a backdoor to legalize gambling nationwide.
As litigation unfolds across multiple federal circuits and the comment period ends, the outcome will decide if prediction markets can keep operating like nationwide sportsbooks or if authority returns to state and tribal regulators.
For operators with tribal partnerships, the IGA’s warning that licenses could be reconsidered adds another layer of risk in an already uncertain regulatory environment.
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