Connecticut tribes challenge expanding sports prediction markets

Mohegan Tribe and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation asked a federal judge for permission to intervene as defendants in a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Connecticut regulators and state officials. The federal agencies sued after Connecticut ordered companies, including Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood Derivatives, to stop offering sports-event contracts. Connecticut officials said the products operate as unauthorized sports betting under state gaming laws. The tribes argued the contracts resemble traditional wagers already governed through tribal gaming agreements and Connecticut regulations. They asserted that tribal authority to regulate and operate gaming comes from federal law, government-to-government agreements, state law, and long-term investment supporting tribal self-sufficiency.

"Connecticut's two federally recognized tribes are asking a federal judge to let them join the government's legal fight over sports prediction markets, arguing the outcome could reshape gambling oversight and threaten a major stream of tribal income."

"The Mohegan Tribe and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation filed a motion Tuesday (May 26) in the U.S. District Court seeking permission to intervene as defendants in a lawsuit brought earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against Connecticut regulators and state officials."

"Federal agencies sued Connecticut in April after state regulators ordered companies including Kalshi, Crypto.com and Robinhood Derivatives to stop offering sports-event contracts in the state. Connecticut officials argued the products function as unauthorized sports betting under state gaming laws."

""The Tribes' right to regulate and operate gaming is not incidental; it is the product of federal law, sovereign government-to-government agreements, state law, and decades of investment designed to promote tribal self-sufficiency and strong tribal governments," the tribes wrote in their memorandum supporting intervention."

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