Rocha rejects Mansour's outreach as tribal opposition to Kalshi hardens

Jason Giles, executive director of the Indian Gaming Association, said Tarek Mansour used "doublespeak and euphemisms" during a video call with tribal leaders that followed Mansour's failed attempt to recruit IGA chair Victor Rocha as a Kalshi advisor.

Rocha declined the advisor offer. He told the New York Post that Mansour's approach reduced him to "a token cigar store Indian" and that the outreach was designed to fracture tribal unity rather than address tribal concerns.

In the subsequent video call, Mansour drew comparisons between the persecution of Lebanese Christians and tribes' historical treatment. Giles said the framing raised immediate red flags. Rocha said Mansour appeared to claim an understanding of historical context he did not have.

Tribal opposition to Kalshi centers on sports-themed event contracts, which tribes argue are functionally indistinguishable from gambling products that compete directly with tribal gaming operations. The IGA's position is that Kalshi's CFTC registration does not exempt those contracts from tribal gaming rights.