Louisiana Tribe Launches First Kalshi-Powered Prediction Market Amid Legal Fights
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe debuts SaltTrade with Kalshi as courts hand other tribes a win and probes hit Polymarket, DraftKings.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited by the ON360 newsroom.
The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has become the first sovereign Tribal nation to launch its own prediction-market platform, striking a deal with Kalshi even as other Tribal governments continue court battles against the same company over sports-event contracts.
The new app, SaltTrade Derivatives, will run on Kalshi’s exchange infrastructure. SaltTrade will handle branding, marketing and customer experience, while Kalshi supplies matching, clearing, custody and surveillance, according to Gambling Insider.
A different path from other Tribes
The announcement lands just two days after the Ninth Circuit sided with Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria in a separate dispute, ruling the Tribes were likely to succeed in arguing that sports-event contracts amount to Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act when they originate from Tribal lands.
Days before that ruling, leaders from 17 Tribal organizations warned CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig that the agency’s rulemaking threatens Tribal gaming and sovereignty. Tribal groups have also been cleared to file an amicus brief backing New York regulators in Novig v. New York, where the operator is seeking a preliminary injunction against state enforcement.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour framed the Tunica-Biloxi deal as a different route entirely. “Prediction markets and Tribal economic development don’t have to be at odds,” Mansour said, adding the structure could matter for Tribes that “haven’t benefited equally from the existing gaming economy.”
Kalshi’s court losses pile up
Kalshi’s legal setbacks kept coming elsewhere. A King County Superior Court judge denied the company’s bid to reconsider an amended preliminary injunction restricting its event-contract business in Washington state, according to gaming attorney Daniel Wallach. Kalshi had argued that rival prediction-market operators were still trading in Washington while its Ninth Circuit appeal remained pending. The injunction stays in place.
Separately, Kalshi has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an extra 30 days to respond to New Jersey regulators’ petition seeking Supreme Court review of the company’s sports-contract operations in that state.
Polymarket and DraftKings under fresh scrutiny
Two investigative reports published over the weekend added pressure on rival firms. The Wall Street Journal reported that Polymarket’s U.S. arm struggled with fraud and compliance failures while pushing for rapid growth. One payment processor flagged more than 80 percent of deposits it handled as fraudulent in February, and fraudsters allegedly linked stolen debit cards to accounts in an attempt to move at least $10 million.
A second security lapse in July hit close to 500 users after an engineering flaw let attackers use stolen personal data to access existing accounts and payment methods. Polymarket said it would cover the resulting losses. The Journal reported the CFTC is now investigating the company and has told staff to preserve related records.
A separate New York Times investigation found that DraftKings used machine-learning models to identify customers likely to lose more money after receiving promotions, while a parallel model built to flag problem-gambling risk before an intervention threshold was reached was shelved. DraftKings Chief Responsible Gaming Officer Lori Kalani said the company found predictive risk scoring insufficiently evidence-based and relies instead on its existing monitoring system. DraftKings also disputed that promotions target losing customers, saying they are aimed at sustained, engaged players.
None of the companies named operate in Ontario’s regulated market, but the disputes over compliance controls and risk detection echo standards AGCO-licensed operators must already meet, including deposit limits and self-exclusion tools for players who need them.
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