A Maryland District Court judge will include the amicus brief filed by a consortium of tribes, over the objections of plaintiff Kalshi.
The event contract firm filed the suit in the state earlier this year after state gaming regulators sent them a cease and desist, arguing that the sports-related event contracts the company offers are tantamount to sports betting.
Tribal amicus brief will be part of MD case
Amicus breifs are generally not filed at the district court level, but the group of tribes, which includes the California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) and the Indian Gaming Association (IGA), requested leave to file the brief, which includes much of the arugment the group put forward in its Third Circuit amicus filing.
Maryland is home to some Native American tribes, but there is no tribal gaming within the state. Nonetheless, the tribes filed, arguing that the decision by the court would have a national impact on the tribal gaming industry.
Kalshi’s request to ignore brief denied
The brief also came after the deadline, which Kalshi argued as one of two reasons to not include it, but Judge Adam Abelson opted to admit it nonetheless. There was no comment from the judge, just a ruling that it could be included, which is standard operating procedure for this kind of request.
In the meantime, Kalshi and the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Commission have both filed responses to each others briefs regarding Kalshi’s request for a preliminary injunction to keep it operational in the state.
The ball now rests in Abelson’s court to determine whether or not to grant the injunction. Unlike New Jersey and Nevada, which took swift action to grant Kalshi’s request, Abelson has been more deliberate in his decision making. After a May 29 hearing, he requested supplemental briefs from both parties, followed by responses to each other’s briefs, which came in late last week. It is now on Abelson to consider those documents, as well as the tribal amicus brief, and make a decision.
CNIGA firing at unregualted gaming on all cylinders
CNIGA has been extremely active in the past few weeks when it comes to taking action against unregulated gaming operators. In addition to being part of these amicus briefs, the group also helped spearhead a new legislative effort to prohibit sweepstakes gaming sites in California.
While the opinion has been a long time coming, the tribes in the state also have pressured Attorney General Rob Bonta to issue an opinion on fantasy sports arguing that they are not legal in the state. The efforts are rumored to have paid off, as Bonta’s office is said to be dropping an anti-fantasy opinion some time before July 3.
