Kalshi

A national anti-commercial gambling organization called on the US Tennis Association (USTA) Friday to end its controversial partnership with Kalshi, a legally dubious business that allows people to bet on anything from sports to politics.

Stop Predatory Gambling exposes and advocates against harm caused by the predatory gambling industry. The nonprofit urged USTA CEO Craig Tiley to cut ties with Kalshi in a letter sent September 11.

“We are calling on the USTA to immediately end its partnership with the prediction market platform Kalshi during the US Open,” the letter reads, continuing:

USTA made Kalshi the exclusive prediction market of the US Open on August 30 — the day the main tournament began. The deal reportedly gave Kalshi exclusive advertising rights inside tournament stadiums and on TV stations where matches were broadcast.

USTA also integrated gambling into the US Open app, which began sending users push notifications featuring betting odds and other “predictions,” courtesy of Kalshi.

The advertising push seems to have done its job. Kalshi users bet an average of $192 million on tennis every day of the US Open, which concluded on Sunday. Bets placed on tennis exceeded those placed on other sports on all but four days of the tournament, according to TickerTracker.

Stop Predatory Gambling argues young players, not money, should be USTA’s foremost consideration.

“The USTA serves over 100,000 junior players nationwide,” the nonprofit wrote in its letter to CEO Tiley.

“Yet, by embedding prediction markets directly into the U.S. Open ecosystem, the USTA is actively normalizing extreme forms of gambling within the exact youth demographic it is tasked with protecting.”

The letter references a March report from The Wall Street Journal which found Kalshi and its competitor, Polymarket, intentionally target 18- to 20-year-olds — and younger.

At one point, the Journal reported, Kalshi even hired a 15-year-old videogame streamer as an affiliate. It only cut the connection after the company’s lawyers clarified it could not work with minors.

“Kinda sad tbh,” a Kalshi employee messaged the gamer.

Kalshi’s attitude is perhaps best encapsulated in a since removed X post, which read:

Nigel Eccles, the co-founder and former CEO of the online sportsbook FanDuel fired back, “You can never start those kids too early on sports betting.”

FanDuel is no less predatory than Kalshi. But, unlike prediction markets, sportsbooks must get permission from individual states to operate. Once licensed, companies like FanDuel and DraftKings must submit to state regulations, which usually include:

• Keeping users over 21 years old.
• Giving up some of their revenue to the state.
• Complying with some safety regulations, like flashing a problem gambling hotline during advertisements or providing a way for bettors to exclude themselves from gambling apps.

It also means sportsbooks cannot operate in states that refuse to license them.

Kalshi claims it does not have to seek state permission to operate because futures trading technically falls under federal authority.

While prediction markets, the gambling industry, states and the feds duke it out over whether predictions contracts on topics including the date of Christ’s return constitute “investing,” rather than gambling, Kalshi and Polymarket are busy making online sports betting available to every adult in every state — even those where sports betting is still illegal.

Stop Predatory Gambling notes that some of USTA’s junior players can legally gamble on Kalshi — a distressing prospect given tennis already struggles with corruption.

As “one of the most bettable sports in the world,” per The Athletic, athletes face daily temptation to make money by throwing a single match, a single set, or by sending a single serve into the net.

This year alone, two players and one official have been fined and suspended for fixing matches or failing to cooperate with anti-corruption investigations.

Athletes don’t have to bet themselves to experience the negative effects of online sports betting. Tales abound of gamblers trying to influence matches by yelling abuse at the person they’ve bet against.

A July report on the 2025 season from the Women’s Tennis Association and World Tennis highlighted “the continued and disproportionate impact of abuse linked to gambling activity.”

The report found angry gamblers responsible for 42% of all verified abuse detected during the 2025 season, up 2% increase from 2024, and 59% of all “serious” abuse.

So why would USTA further embed gambling’s negative influence by partnering with Kalshi? Les Bernal, the national director of Stop Predatory Gambling, was frank in a press release announcing the letter.

“National media has spotlighted how Kalshi is blatantly targeting and exploiting the vulnerabilities of young people,” he wrote.

“USTA executives, driven by greed, chose to willfully ignore these facts and be complicit in this misconduct.”

The USTA did not end its partnership with Kalshi prior to the end of the US Open. It is unclear if the association will continue to partner with the prediction market at further tournaments — but there is no indication it will stop.

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Gambling is a Moral Issue

Wisconsin citizens who bet on elections through prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket could lose their ballot, the state election commission warned last week.

“We want voters to understand that they cannot legally make a bet on an election and cast a ballot in that same election,” Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) Administrator Meagan Wolfe wrote in the press release.

“We are not able to police someone placing a bet on these platforms, but it’s important for voters to understand the consequences if they bet on an election outcome.”

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket exploit regulatory loopholes to effectively allow users to bet on anything — including election outcomes.

The sticking point comes down to the difference between “betting” and “trading.” Prediction markets allow users to buy and sell a kind of futures contract called event contracts. Futures are legitimate investments, but unlike most, the underlying commodity in an event contract isn’t corn or oil — it’s simply whether an event occurs.

An event contract retains its value if the predicted outcome occurs.

The practical result is that Kalshi and Polymarket are regulated as investment platforms but used for gambling.

Kalshi’s “midterm hub,” for example, allows users to buy contracts on multiple 2026 midterm elections at the same time.

Wisconsin statute 6.03(2), which dates back to 1849, prohibits citizens from voting “in any election in which the person has made or become interested, directly or indirectly, in any bet or wager depending upon the result of the election.”

In a meeting earlier this month, WEC decided the statute applied to betting via prediction markets, regardless of the technical distinctions between “trading” and “gambling.”

“[We] do not see how an elector could … truthfully say that they ‘have not made any bet or wager depending upon the result of this election’ if they have offered money in a prediction market, and would receive money if they are correct and would lose money if they are incorrect,” WEC staff concluded.

Kalshi execs reacted poorly, to say the least.

“THIS IS INSANE,” Benjamin Freeman, the man in charge of “politics growth” at Kalshi, wrote on X.

“The [Washington Election] Commission is implying they will literally disenfranchise voters who use Kalshi to trade elections,” he continued. “This is blatantly unconstitutional and illegal.”

Wisconsin is one of 23 states which prohibit all betting on elections. An additional nine ban betting on elections in certain contexts. But WEC itself admits the laws are difficult to enforce. Skeptics argue the bans wouldn’t stand up under legal challenge.

Supporters of election betting prohibitions argue voters shouldn’t be given a monetary incentive to support candidates and ballot measures. Ann Jacobs, a WEC commissioner, told NPR:

We want people voting for the person they think will do the best job at the position they are being elected to. We don’t want people voting for someone who isn’t the best person for the job simply because it is going to line a voter’s pocket.

Betting on elections also introduces opportunities for corruption and manipulation. In the case of prediction markets, for instance, traders could buy up many “yes” contracts affirming a candidate will win office. As the value of the “yes” contracts increase, the candidate could appear to have more support than they actually do, a misleading metric which could affect how people cast their vote.

Kalshi is making money hand over fist by encouraging people to bet on elections. By attacking Wisconsin, Kalshi higher-ups likely hope to prevent other states with election betting bans from issuing similar warnings, which could affect their bottom line.

Parents should see Kalshi’s conduct as a major red flag. Prediction markets care about money more than anything — including their users. Your children could be gambling on everything from elections to sports to whether Jesus will come back on one of these platforms as soon as they turn 18. They might even believe it’s “investing.”

Parents need to get in front of this speeding train. You can start by countering Kalshi’s talking points. Teach your children about good stewardship so they understand that true investing doesn’t simply mean trading investment products. Warn your children gambling can be addictive so they don’t fall hook, line and sinker for Kalshi’s glowing advertisements.

Perhaps most importantly, be aware of what your child is doing and viewing online. The internet is rife with pro-gambling content children shouldn’t absorb.

Additional Articles and Resources

Kalshi, Prediction Markets Make It Easy for Kids to Gamble Online

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Gambling is a Moral Issue

Online Sports Betting Significantly Worsens Financial Health, Study Suggests