Kalshi

Overview

Kalshi is a federally regulated event contract exchange — a CFTC-designated contract market, the same regulatory category as CME or ICE — that lets users trade Yes/No contracts on whether real-world events will occur. Contracts settle at $1 if the event happens and $0 if it does not, with intra-market prices between 1 cent and 99 cents acting as an implied probability. Kalshi's most newsworthy category is sports: in April 2026, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the CFTC has exclusive jurisdiction over sports-related event contracts, blocking New Jersey from shutting down Kalshi's sports markets. That was the first federal appellate ruling on the question. State regulators in Nevada, Maryland, Ohio, and others have pushed back, and Kalshi has lost preliminary rulings in several of those jurisdictions, so legality on sports contracts varies depending on which district court you sit in.

Welcome Offer

Kalshi is not a sportsbook and does not run a traditional welcome bonus. New traders who sign up through a referral code typically receive a $10 trading credit after a first deposit. This is meaningfully smaller than a casino or sportsbook match, which is the right comparison if you think of Kalshi that way, and larger than $0, which is the right comparison if you think of it as a regulated derivatives broker.

Product Depth

Kalshi lists hundreds of active markets across economics (CPI, Fed rate decisions, jobless claims), politics (elections, confirmations), weather, crypto, culture, and now sports. Sports contracts cover NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and tennis, with markets on game winners, playoff outcomes, season-long awards, and series results. Liquidity on the biggest sports contracts is good enough that spreads sit within a cent or two of mid for major NFL games; niche markets can have wider books. Economics and politics markets are where Kalshi really shines — there is nothing else in the regulated U.S. space with that breadth.

Pricing

Kalshi's fee formula is 0.07 × C × P × (1 − P), where C is contract count and P is the contract price in dollars. Fees are highest near 50 cents and near zero at the 1-cent/99-cent edges. The maximum commission per contract is 2 cents. There are no monthly account fees and no charges on settlement. Debit card deposits and withdrawals carry a 2% processor fee; ACH and wire are free.

Banking

Deposits can be funded by ACH, wire, debit card, and in some flows stablecoin. Withdrawals go back to the linked bank account. Because Kalshi is a CFTC-regulated exchange, customer funds are held in segregated accounts at qualifying U.S. banks — a material consumer-protection difference from an offshore prediction site. KYC is required at signup, not just at first withdrawal.

User Experience

The web and mobile interfaces look and behave like a brokerage platform rather than a sportsbook: order book, limit orders, market orders, and real-time depth. That is a gift to traders and a learning curve for anyone coming from a traditional bet slip. Mobile app stability is solid. Market resolution is usually fast, sourced from pre-announced data providers listed in each contract's rules. Customer support is responsive by email; live chat is not standard.

The Bottom Line

Kalshi is the most legitimate, most transparent prediction market product available to U.S. residents. For event trading on economics and politics, it has no real U.S. competition. For sports, it is a genuine alternative to a sportsbook in many states — the 3rd Circuit ruling protects its operations in New Jersey and signals a favorable federal posture — but traders in Nevada, Maryland, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, and a few other challenging states should check local status before funding an account. If you want regulated exposure to event outcomes without offshore counterparty risk, Kalshi is the answer.

Event contracts carry risk of loss. Trade responsibly.