Kalshi Opens Washington Office to Step Up US Lobbying Efforts
Prediction markets platform Kalshi has opened a brand new workplace in Washington, D.C., because it ramps up efforts to form federal and state coverage amid rising scrutiny of its merchandise throughout the United States.
Key Takeaways:
- Kalshi has opened a Washington workplace and employed seasoned coverage veterans to deepen engagement with federal and state regulators.
- The CFTC-regulated platform leads prediction markets with $6.58 billion in month-to-month quantity.
- State regulators proceed to problem Kalshi’s sports-related contracts.
The firm employed veteran political strategist John Bivona as its first head of federal authorities relations, according to a recent announcement.
Bivona brings greater than twenty years of expertise spanning political campaigns and federal businesses, together with a stint as the primary White House liaison on the Department of Homeland Security throughout the Biden administration.
He additionally beforehand served as chief of workers to former New York congressman Antonio Delgado and held senior roles on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Kalshi Steps Up Policy Engagement as Prediction Markets Gain Traction
Kalshi mentioned the transfer displays its intention to interact extra straight with policymakers as prediction markets acquire traction.
The platform, which is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, permits customers to commerce contracts tied to the end result of future occasions, starting from elections and financial knowledge to leisure and sports activities.
To strengthen its state-level outreach, Kalshi has additionally employed Blake Bee, a former senior supervisor of state and native public coverage at Amazon.
Bee beforehand labored intently with state attorneys basic and spent years on the National Association of Attorneys General, in addition to within the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office.
Kalshi has emerged because the world’s largest prediction market by month-to-month quantity.
The firm reported $6.58 billion in buying and selling quantity in December, far outpacing rival Polymarket, which logged $2.28 billion over the identical interval. Trading exercise surged final fall, coinciding with the beginning of the NFL season.
CEO Tarek Mansour mentioned the platform processed roughly $441 million in quantity within the first 4 days following kickoff.
Despite its fast development and federal license, Kalshi has encountered resistance from a number of US states over its sports-related contracts.
Regulators in states together with Arizona, Tennessee, Connecticut and Massachusetts have argued that these choices quantity to unlicensed sports activities betting underneath state legislation.
Court rulings have been combined. A federal choose in Nevada dominated final 12 months that Kalshi should adjust to the state’s gaming rules, rejecting the agency’s argument that CFTC oversight overrides state authority.
Kalshi is interesting that call. In distinction, a judge in Tennessee temporarily blocked state officials from stopping the platform’s sports activities contracts.
State Opposition to Prediction Markets Builds Over Consumer Concerns
State opposition to prediction markets has been constructing for months.
In 2025, the SWC urged the CFTC to prohibit sports activities occasion contracts, arguing that such merchandise bypass state safeguards similar to age verification, accountable gaming guidelines and anti-money laundering necessities.
As reported, a brand new laws to restrict the interactions between authorities officers and the prediction markets is being supported by more than 30 Democrats within the US House of Representatives, together with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The lure behind new restrictions is a controversial Polymarket wager, which started as a wager of $32,000 however finally turned greater than $400,000 shortly earlier than the sudden detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The invoice proposed by the New York Representative Ritchie Torres is the Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026.
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