Ninth Circuit Refuses Kalshi Rehearing as California Tribes Win an Injunction

No Ninth Circuit judge asked for a vote on rehearing Kalshi's Nevada appeal, so the ruling that sports contracts are not swaps is about to take effect across nine Western states. On the same day, a federal judge barred Kalshi's sports contracts on two California tribes' lands.

• The Ninth Circuit denied both panel rehearing and rehearing en banc of Kalshi's Nevada appeal on 4 November, and no judge on the full court requested a vote
• The order lifts the hold that Kalshi's September petition placed on the 28 August decision, and Kalshi has until 2 February 2027 to petition the Supreme Court
• Also on 4 November, Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley enjoined Kalshi from offering any sports contracts on the Indian lands of the Blue Lake Rancheria and the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians
• The injunction follows the Ninth Circuit's 16 September ruling that the contracts are likely Class III gaming on those lands under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
• Kalshi says it has geofenced the tribes' lands since September; the tribes say a gaming commission member still placed a trade on the Blue Lake Rancheria

The Full Ninth Circuit Declined to Take the Nevada Case

The three-sentence order in KalshiEX, LLC v. Assad, No. 25-7516, says Judges Ryan D. Nelson, Bridget S. Bade and Kenneth K. Lee "unanimously" voted to deny panel rehearing and rehearing en banc, and that "no judge has requested a vote" on the en banc request.

The panel ruled on 28 August that Kalshi's sports event contracts are not swaps and affirmed the denial of a preliminary injunction against Nevada's regulators. Kalshi petitioned on 9 September, then wrote twice asking the court to rehear the case or wait for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to finalise a revised Rule 40.11 and a proposed rule treating sports event contracts as swaps. Nevada called that "just another attempt at delay". The court did not wait.

Under the federal appellate rules the mandate issues seven days after rehearing is denied, on 11 November, unless Kalshi moves to stay it pending a certiorari petition. No such motion appears on the docket after the order.

In Nevada the practical change is small. The state has enforced through its own courts since a First Judicial District Court order of 18 May, and Kalshi agreed in July to geofence the state. The change is for the rest of the circuit, where the pending petition had kept the decision from taking effect.

A One-Page Injunction for Two Rancherias

In the Northern District of California, Corley granted the tribes' motion in Blue Lake Rancheria v. Kalshi Inc., No. 3:25-cv-06162, after a status conference on 4 November. The order bars Kalshi Inc. and KalshiEX from offering "on the Tribes' Indian lands any sports contracts", naming sports from baseball to chess and esports. The tribes must give Kalshi maps of their lands by 13 November, and Kalshi must report on compliance by 25 November. The order gives no reasons and does not cover Robinhood, the other defendant.

Corley had refused an injunction in November 2025, before the Ninth Circuit reversed. The parties' 14 October joint status report shows why the tribes still wanted one after that. Kalshi argued the motion was moot because it had geofenced the lands through GeoComply, with measures in place as of 23 September. The tribes said a member of the Blue Lake Rancheria Gaming Commission then placed a trade on the app while on the Rancheria, and asked for an order they could enforce through contempt. Kalshi said it was taking the report up with GeoComply. On 21 October Corley allowed the tribes to add the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians as a plaintiff; they also plan claims against Robinhood. InGame called the order the first preliminary injunction a tribe has secured against Kalshi.

The Nevada Ruling Has Lost Its Shelter

The en banc petition's value was time, and that time has ended without one judge asking for a vote. Arizona, Montana and California lose the argument that the decision is not yet in force once the mandate issues. Kalshi can still seek a stay, but it must now show a substantial question for the Supreme Court, a harder test than filing a petition.

The Tribal Order Turns a Voluntary Geofence Into Contempt Exposure

Kalshi had already fenced off the two rancherias, so the order changes the consequence of failure more than the conduct required. A leak like the one the tribes reported would now be a breach of a federal court order, and the tribes have shown they will test the fence. Every tribe in the circuit can now cite the same appellate ruling.

The CFTC Argument Now Goes to Washington

Kalshi asked the Ninth Circuit to let pending CFTC rulemaking reshape its reading of the Commodity Exchange Act. That argument now moves to the Supreme Court, where New Jersey's petition is pending and Kalshi's response is due on 7 December. The split with the Third Circuit now rests on a Ninth Circuit decision the full court has declined to revisit.

Kalshi lost two rulings in one day in the same circuit. Neither settles the question nationally, but together they leave the Supreme Court as its only route to a different answer in the West.