Kalshi, a prediction market startup, scored well during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, netting roughly double its projected user traffic and trading volume as fans scrambled to turn their soccer savvy into profits.
Trading Volume and User Growth
Kalshi recorded $27 billion in trading volume and saw about 3 million users during the length of the tournament, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
The competition ran its expanded 48-team format this year and became the most lucrative in FIFA’s history. The startup had expected $13 billion in volume and about 1.5 million users during the tournament.
Expansion and Regulatory Challenges
Prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket let people wager on the outcome of events such as sports and elections and have gained popularity since the 2024 Presidential election. Kalshi will start taking bets on the outcomes of clinical trials and FDA regulatory reviews, it said earlier in the month, making drug-development odds public for the first time.
Critics argue that such platforms are nothing more than illegal gambling operations that promote addictive behavior and are vulnerable to insider trading. Kalshi is also engaged in litigation with several states that have accused it of violating gaming laws by letting users bet on sporting events.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
