The Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town in Oklahoma and Samuel Marshall Jr., who says he is its rightful chief, have sued Kalshi in a bid to stop PokkeTrades, a Kalshi-powered prediction market app, from launching this month.
The suit was filed on 30 October in the Okmulgee District of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation District Court. Mvskoke Media first reported it.
Who is being sued
- Kalshi and its co-founder and CEO, Tarek Mansour;
- Wilson Yargee, the second man who claims to be the town’s chief and who built PokkeTrades with Kalshi;
- Michael Stopp, the consultant who brokered the deal.
The leadership dispute
The federal government lists both Marshall and Yargee as chiefs of the tribal town, which has fewer than 500 members, and notes a “tribal leadership dispute”. Marshall says Yargee had no authority to sign the agreement. He said:
“This other group, they’re not even members.”
The 26-page complaint sets out 10 counts, including fraud and deceit, false advertising and civil conspiracy. It says the claimed affiliation forced the town to spend time and money correcting the record, damaged its goodwill and caused confusion about who represents it. The town also says it was excluded from the National Congress of American Indians’ annual convention because of its association with PokkeTrades.
It seeks a temporary restraining order to stop the app launching, public acknowledgement that Marshall is the legitimate chief, and compensatory and punitive damages.
Kalshi’s position
Kalshi said the tribal council approved an agreement with Kalshi to launch a prediction market and that a signed agreement is in place. Stopp said he expects the case to be dismissed.
Kalshi announced deals with Alabama-Quassarte and three other tribes in early October, under which the tribes receive a share of the fees on trades. The case lands days after a federal judge barred Kalshi from offering sports contracts on two California tribes’ lands.
