Who’s in Charge of the Oklahoma Tribe Doing Business With Kalshi?

Five Native American tribes, including the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, have partnered with Kalshi to create branded prediction-market apps. Kalshi will receive a portion of the fees generated by these trades. However, a dispute has arisen within the Alabama-Quassarte tribe over who has the authority to negotiate with Kalshi. Two men, Samuel Marshall Jr. and Wilson Yargee, both claim to lead the tribe.

Marshall's faction maintains that they are the legitimate leaders and never authorized the Kalshi deal, while Yargee states that he is the rightful chief and that the agreement was made in good faith. The U.S. federal government lists both men as chiefs, acknowledging the ongoing dispute. Tribal administrator Brian Palmer confirms that Yargee was elected in May 2021 but was removed from office in October 2021.

Kalshi has a signed agreement with the tribe, but the tribal leader who brokered the deal claims they were not aware of the dispute until a CNN report. Kalshi denies that the Alabama-Quassarte tribal counsel had control of the money and did not want to share it.