ONEIDA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Oneida Nation is backing a lawsuit by the state of Wisconsin against online prediction market companies.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced the lawsuit Thursday against Kalshi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Polymarket, Crypto.com and their affiliates. The lawsuit alleges the companies create “sports-related event contracts” through prediction markets, which the state argues are indistinguishable from sports betting.
“The Oneida Nation is concerned that so-called ‘event contracts’ or prediction market offerings that function like sports betting — when offered outside of this established framework — undermine the integrity of Wisconsin’s gambling laws and the rights guaranteed to tribes under federal law and state compacts,” the Oneida Nation said in a statement Friday. “Rebranding or novel terminology does not change the underlying function of wagering on sporting outcomes, nor does it negate long-standing legal restrictions.”
The Oneida statement acknowledged there is ongoing debate about the legality of prediction markets nationally.
Oneida Nation Chairman Tehassi Hill said in a news conference Friday, “The Oneida Nation stands firmly in our support for the fair enforcement of Wisconsin laws and respect for Tribal sovereignty. Any expansion, reinterpretation or innovation of wagering or gaming-related activities should only occur through lawful processes that honor federal statutes, Tribal-state compacts and the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the state of Wisconsin.”
Gaming is one of the most regulated industries in the country, and we take great pride in that. We also take great pride in responsible gaming — making sure there’s processes and procedures in place for all that to take place.
In statements, Robinhood, Kalshi and Coinbase all pointed out that they are regulated by the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
While Kaul said the two are not directly related, the lawsuit comes two weeks after Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill legalizing sports betting in the state. The recently signed bill requires the state to negotiate new deals with American Indian tribes that would run the sports betting. Under the new Wisconsin law, online sports betting would be allowed only if the infrastructure to manage the bets, such as computer servers, is located on Tribal lands in the state.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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