Kalshi informs CFTC of plans to launch single-game event contracts
Predictions market suddenly started using the word ‘betting’ in marketing materials during the run up to Super Bowl LIX
Kalshi has informed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that it is self-certifying sports event contracts based on single-match outcomes.
The New York-based platform filed intentions with the derivatives regulator on Friday, February 7 under the title: “Will <team> win <event>?”, offering the market on any game between any teams.
The markets were set to be listed a day later and allow users to trade as much as $25,000 per contract, yet these markets have not been made available on the Kalshi site.
An example of its latest contract type was provided in the filing submited to the CFTC, which read: “The National Basketball Association meeting between the New York Knickerbockers and the Houston Rockets scheduled to be played February 3, 2025.”
This latest development comes during a time of uncertainty surrounding sports event contracts, given the CFTC has placed a 90-day review on Crypto.com’s offering and seen its request for the Singapore-based exchange to halt its rollout ignored.
Robinhood became the latest platform to offer sports event contracts, as announced on Monday, February 5, but the product was pulled within 24 hours, after the CFTC urged the retail brokerage firm to “not permit customers to access” the contracts.
The Robinhood offering had been using Kalshi’s markets as part of a deal struck between the pair.
While Kalshi’s previous markets were in the style of moneyline bets, based on head-to-head events, the language used made for a more restricted offering, such as who would win the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup.
Kalshi’s market on the winner of Super Bowl LIX had generated nearly $8m in volume with two hours to go until kick-off in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, Kalshi’s marketing ahead of Super Bowl LIX marked the first time the company had labeled its offering as ‘betting’.
The firm’s official Instagram account uploaded a photo that featured a caption declaring Kalshi the ‘first nationwide legal sports betting platform’, before reposting an article that claimed sports betting was now legal in all 50 US states thanks to the platform.