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Kalshi has drawn the ire of New Mexico’s tribal community, and it is drawing them into a court battle. The New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against the prediction market, shortly after four of the state’s tribes sued last month.
Tribal casinos only option for sports betting in New Mexico
While sports betting is legal in the state, it is only permitted in-person at brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, which are operated by New Mexico’s tribal community. The lawsuit alleges that by offering prediction contracts on sports, Kalshi is operating as a de facto sportsbook, running afoul of state law and tribal jurisdiction.
Torrez alleged that Kalshi is attempting to loophole state gaming laws with its sports-related prediction contracts:
“New Mexico has a longstanding and carefully balanced system for regulating gaming that protects consumers, ensures accountability and respects tribal sovereignty. The only lawful gaming in New Mexico operates either under tribal-state gaming compacts or under strict state regulations to ensure honest gaming free from corruption and licenses gaming operators only after they explain how they plan to address compulsive gambling. Kalshi has ignored that framework entirely while offering online sports betting within the state.
We are filing this lawsuit to protect the integrity of our laws, our regulatory system and, most importantly, consumers.”
Last month, the Pojoaque Pueblo, Mescalero Apache, Sandia, and Isleta tribes sued Kalshi for violating the exclusive rights that their lands have to offer sports betting in the state.
Suit alleges underage gambling
Along with levying accusations that Kalshi is operating an illegal sports betting platform in the state, the lawsuit alleges that it is also violating New Mexico’s age limit for gambling. The legal age to bet on sports in New Mexico is 21, but Kalshi permits access to its sports prediction markets at the age of 18.
The New Mexico Department of Justice is seeking a preliminary injunction to stop Kalshi from operating sports-related contracts in the state.
