Louisiana Tribe and Kalshi Announce New Prediction Platform

Tribal gaming and prediction markets have found some common ground in Louisiana.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana has partnered with Kalshi to announce the upcoming launch of a new prediction platform named SaltTrade Derivatives. It will host many of Kalshi’s markets, including those for economics, weather, and sports. 

The deal makes the tribe the first to partner with the industry and shows that tribal gaming and prediction markets can coexist. 

“As prediction markets become an increasingly important part of the regulated financial system, Tribal nations are beginning to consider what these markets could mean for their own economic development,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour shared in an announcement. “Tunica-Biloxi is showing what innovation in Indian Country can look like. The Tribe is embracing prediction markets because they provide an innovative way for people to engage and trade on topics they care about, outside of traditional financial markets.”

The announcement comes just days after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued a conditional no-action letter. In it, the regulator established that providers who partner with licensed exchanges, such as Kalshi, are exempt from registering as a new broker. 

This paved the way for the new partnership and the upcoming launch of a new prediction platform.

California Tribes Rip Partnership

Not everyone was happy to hear about the deal between Kalshi and the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe.

The California Nations Indian Gaming Association described the Louisiana tribe's decision as “profoundly disappointing.” It reasserted claims that the industry violates the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, an argument that recent court rulings support. 

“Less than 48 hours after the Ninth Circuit held that Kalshi’s sports-event contracts are Class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Tunica-Biloxi chose to stand with Kalshi and help legitimize the same business model that other Tribal Nations and states across America are fighting to stop,” a press release from CNIGA reads. “The court made it clear that Kalshi’s sports contracts constitute Class III gaming and that entering into these contracts on Tribal lands violates the law.”’

The Kalshi prediction platform remains the largest in the industry and is currently available in almost every US market. As a result, other tribal groups have targeted it with lawsuits. Despite this, the operator has continued to push for cooperation between tribal gaming and prediction markets.