Kalshi has unveiled partnerships with four additional Tribes to launch independent prediction market applications, including the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma and the Greenville Rancheria, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation and Alturas Indian Rancheria Tribes in California.
“More Tribes are recognizing that federally regulated prediction markets offer a real path to new, sustainable revenue. Prediction markets and Tribal economic development don't have to be at odds. They can grow together,” Kalshi Co-Founder and CEO Tarek Mansour said.
“Each of these Tribes owns its platform, its brand and its relationship with customers, backed by the liquidity of a unified, nationwide exchange. The future of this industry doesn't have to be organized around conflict. It can be organized around opportunity, with Tribal nations participating as owners and helping shape what it becomes."
Each Tribe will unveil an independent prediction market application, powered by Kalshi, and maintain ownership of the platform. The applications include PokkeTrades by Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Sovereign Edge by Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the self-titled Greenville and AIR Markets from Alturas Indian Rancheria.
Cherokee Nation citizen and Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town VP of Economic Development Michael Stopp addressed the new partnership, having said, “Prediction markets are part of the economic future, and Tribes left out of lucrative gaming markets deserve a chance to participate.
“These markets offer Tribes a chance to participate in an emerging industry, especially those whose geography has limited revenue generation. Respect for Tribal sovereignty means respecting each nation’s right to evaluate that opportunity and decide what best serves its citizens. Sovereignty cannot mean protecting opportunity for the haves while closing the door on the have-nots.”
The four additional partnerships follow Kalshi’s inaugural agreement with the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, which plans to launch an independent prediction markets application after receiving a no-action letter from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
"Tribal nations have too often watched new industries take shape without us at the table," Greenville Rancheria said.
"We own the brand, we own the customer relationship and we decide how the business grows. Partnering with Kalshi gives us a regulated foundation to build on, so we can focus on what matters most: creating real resources for our community."
The collaborations will surely be a gut-punch to organizations such as the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), although IGA Chairman David Bean spoke on expecting operators to “find the weak point” in Tribal gaming at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas.
Chairman Bean questioned why “any Tribe” would be willing to “give up their sovereign immunity," but it appears the reputational pendulum for prediction markets may be swinging the other way.
Ironically, California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman James Siva claimed at G2E that prediction markets' entry into the state has done the "one thing that they can’t afford to have happen, which is unify California Tribes."
Seems like the Chairman may have received mixed signals on that one...
Kalshi launched the US 500 to expand the operator’s perpetual futures capabilities on October 6, offering investors the opportunity to take leveraged long or short positions on the new stock index
