Inside Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansours testy relationship with Indian casinos and how it could pose an existential threat: Lying little twerp

Kalshi’s dicey relationship with Native American casinos went south after CEO Tarek Mansour held unsuccessful talks to mend differences with tribal leaders – resulting in a flurry of lawsuits that could pose existential threat to the prediction market giant’s business, The Post has learned. Kalshi offers wagers across a slew of real-world events – from the Oscars to the weather in France to the prices at Costco – betting on sports events accounts for as much as 70% of an estimated $4 billion in revenue during the 12 months ended this July, according to a source close to the company.While Kalshi says its wagers are financial instruments that it calls “event contracts” and “swaps,” the tribes have sued to stop them, countering that they amount to unauthorized sports gambling under federal Indian gaming laws. Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit of the US Court of Appeals ruled against Kalshi in one tribal suit, setting the stage for a showdown in the Supreme Court that risks crippling the app’s exploding business.The conflict hadn’t yet broken into the open when Mansour – Kalshi’s 30-year-old, bespectacled, billionaire boss – held a March 2025 video call with Victor Rocha, a member of the powerful Pechanga Band of Indians and conference chairman for the Indian Gaming Association, sources close to the situation said. During the call, Mansour asked Rocha – an influential tribal leader who Kalshi hoped could help bridge a growing divide over their competing businesses – to join Kalshi as an advisor, insiders said.But Rocha – an outspoken figure on social media who has branded himself Indian Country’s “attack dog” – swiftly rebuffed the offer. In an interview with The Post, Rocha said Mansour’s overture came off like an attempt to reduce him to a token “cigar store Indian” so Kalshi could say “Hey, look, we have an Indian on our side.” Rocha added that Mansour’s proposal looked like a ploy to “divide the triba...