Kalshi Reports Over $25 Billion in World Cup Wagers While Facing More Than 20 Federal Lawsuits

Kalshi has taken in more than $25 billion in sports wagers since the World Cup started, Npr reported. Analysts expect online sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel to log $4 billion in bets across all 104 matches. Kalshi operates as a federally regulated financial product where users wager against each other and the platform charges transaction fees rather than profiting from losses.

Sports account for 80 to 90 percent of activity on the site, including team outcomes, player performance and announcer statements. The company allows bets starting at age 18 in states where the sports betting age is 21 and functions in California and Texas, where sports betting remains illegal. More than 20 federal lawsuits are pending against Kalshi.

Courts in Massachusetts and Michigan have blocked sports betting on the platform statewide. Minnesota enacted a ban on prediction markets in May. Arizona filed criminal charges that a federal court later paused.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued nine states, including Illinois and Arizona, over their attempts to regulate the platforms. Sports gambling operators paid roughly $4 billion annually in taxes across more than 30 states where mobile betting is legal, according to an Npr analysis of state figures.

North Carolina imposed a 6 percent tax on prediction markets compared with 23 percent for sportsbooks.

Kalshi spokeswoman Elisabeth Diana said the company complies with all corporate tax laws and federal regulations. DraftKings and FanDuel have launched their own prediction market services. David Forman of the American Gaming Association said Kalshi functions as a sportsbook with a small prediction market attached.