Kalshi lays groundwork with CFTC to launch three new sports betting options
Kalshi, the predictions market, has been leaning further and further into the sports gambling world. A new self-certification with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has now shown that the company plans to allow for new styles of wagers that look awfully close to sportsbook territory.
The documents detailing all of this list how the bets would be set up on Kalshi. For instance, it lays out a typical example:
“… “Will <player> have <above/below/between/exactly/at least> <count> <statistic> in
<time period> of <game>?” Contract is a contract relating to sports.”
So far, the CFTC has given the thumbs up for Kalshi to go ahead with the following styles of bets:
- Football spreads
- Football totals
- Football touchdowns
In a statement, Kalshi’s CEO, Tarek Mansour, elaborated on why they’ve gone through the trouble of getting certified by the CFTC:
“Bringing these markets under CFTC oversight gives consumers the same level of protection as Wall Street traders and institutions.
“Kalshi is bringing more liquidity, efficiency, and price competition to markets in the $ 400 billion sports industry, and our traction so far is testament to that.”
Kalshi sports expansion shows growing pains despite success
The prediction market has been gunning for the sports world for quite some time. Since it launched its NFL offerings, the company has seen an explosion of usage. As we previously reported, Kalshi saw its first week of activity bring in the equivalent of the US election betting that the platform was running for its duration. Kalshi has also now partnered with the NFL on FOX, furthering its ties to the sports world at a breakneck pace.
To be clear, this is horrible and the same issue as DK voiding bets made on public info. Who is the arbiter of “last traded price” – is it when Schefter reports or when the official inactives come out? What if price leaks before official announcement? What is “fair market price” https://t.co/txz01a6j98
— Man of the Vig (@VigPolice) September 9, 2025
However, as reported by In Game, Kalshi’s methods of keeping up to date with the ins and outs of the NFL have begun to cause some friction. In one example, player Roschon Johnson was absent from his game, but Kalshi had kept the wager up on its site. Of course, keen-eyed bettors placed a “No” bet on him scoring, which one user’s screenshot shows he’d have won $ 2,500.
Kalshi does specify that the player has to “take at least one snap”, or participate in the game, otherwise it defaults to “the last fair market price before the start of play.” Now, the issue is what determines a “fair market price”, and why Kalshi isn’t on top of its markets. We’ll have to see how they handle things as its sportsbook expansion continues.
Featured image: Wikicommons
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