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Kalshi adds 3 million users on World Cup bets
Kalshi says the 2026 World Cup brought 3 million new users and more than $1.2 billion in trades on the winner market.
Image: Mashable
Kalshi says the 2026 FIFA World Cup delivered a huge surge in activity for its prediction market: 3 million new users joined during the tournament, which began on June 11 and ended with the Spain vs. Argentina final on July 19, won by Spain.
The company also said the World Cup set a platform record for the most money traded in a single market. According to Kalshi, users placed more than $1.2 billion in trades — the platform’s term for bets — on predicting the tournament winner.
Kalshi maintained a heavy presence throughout the event despite not being an official FIFA sponsor. The company partnered with football figures including Luka Modrić of the Croatia national team, who appeared as a brand ambassador in a commercial. It also partnered with the Argentina national team and secured a featured post on Lionel Messi’s Instagram account, which has more than 512 million followers. In the U.S., a commercial featuring Timothée Chalamet also ran frequently.
Neither Kalshi nor its largest competitor, Polymarket, was an official sponsor of the tournament. That designation went to ADI Predictstreet, a much smaller and newer platform named the “Official Prediction Market Partner of the FIFA World Cup 2026.” Even so, Kalshi still found a route in: it partnered with ADI Predictstreet on co-branded ad placements, and visitors in markets ADI Predictstreet could not legally serve were directed by a prominent homepage banner to use Kalshi instead.
Prediction markets have faced growing criticism as they have expanded. Critics have pointed to alleged instances of illegal insider trading and warned that some markets can encourage trading on topics with potentially dangerous consequences. The category also overlaps with broader concerns around gambling addiction, one reason sports betting is tightly regulated.
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Some U.S. states are now challenging sports trading on prediction markets directly, arguing in court that these platforms are effectively running illegal sports betting operations. Even with that pressure, platforms such as Kalshi appear to keep gaining ground during major live events like the World Cup.
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via Mashable
