Kalshi
Flagged · AvoidPays the president's son as an advisor while his father's agency regulates it, lets 18-year-olds trade, and drew cease-and-desist orders from at least eight states.
Last updated August 29, 2026
Reasons to avoid
Issues span:GovernanceConsumer
Paid advisor discouraged state regulation
Donald Trump Jr. told a gathering of Republican state attorneys general in New Orleans that gambling companies were pushing states to regulate prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket to protect their own monopolies, and urged them not to pursue new rules. The remarks came as Trump Jr. serves as a paid advisor to Kalshi and sits on Polymarket's advisory board with a stake through his venture firm 1789 Capital, both companies whose federal regulator answers to his father's administration.President's son advises, father's agency regulates
Donald Trump Jr. serves as a paid strategic advisor to Kalshi, even as his venture firm 1789 Capital invested in rival platform Polymarket and he joined Polymarket's advisory board too. The arrangement ties the sitting president's son directly to a company competing in the same market the CFTC regulates, the same federal agency that answers to his father's administration.Lets 18-year-olds trade event contracts
Kalshi allows anyone 18 and older to trade its event contracts, well below the 21 year minimum most states require for sports betting. At a May 2026 Senate Commerce Committee hearing, lawmakers criticized Kalshi's social media marketing for reaching even younger audiences and raising the risk of problem gambling before users are legally old enough to sign up.Reimbursed Khamenei market against trader expectations
Kalshi listed a $54 million market asking whether Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei would leave office, and after he was killed in a 2026 U.S. and Israeli strike, the company resolved the contract using the price recorded before his death rather than the outcome traders believed they had won. Kalshi's CEO said the company was reimbursing net losses and fees at a cost of $2.2 million after the backlash, and the episode helped prompt three separate bills in Congress seeking to ban prediction markets from listing contracts tied to assassination or an individual's death.Eight states ordered it to stop
Nevada's gaming regulator ordered Kalshi to stop offering event contracts in the state in March 2025, and after Kalshi sued to block enforcement, a federal judge ruled in November 2025 that state regulators could proceed against the company, rejecting its argument that federal oversight preempts state gambling law. By mid-2026 Kalshi had received similar cease-and-desist orders from at least eight states, turning much of its growth into an ongoing legal fight over whether it can operate outside state licensing rules.
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Common questions
- Is Kalshi ethical?
- Kalshi has faced cease-and-desist orders from at least eight states and lost a bid to block Nevada's gaming regulators from enforcing state law against it. Donald Trump Jr. is a paid strategic advisor to the company even as the CFTC that regulates it answers to his father's administration, and Kalshi's minimum trading age of 18 sits below the 21 year threshold most states require for sports betting.
- Why should I avoid Kalshi?
- State gambling regulators in at least eight states argue Kalshi is operating unlicensed sports betting under the guise of a federally regulated exchange, and a Nevada federal judge sided with state regulators in November 2025. The company's handling of a $54 million market tied to the death of Iran's Supreme Leader drew a class action lawsuit and new congressional bills, and its paid advisory relationship with the president's son has raised conflict of interest concerns.
- What are the best ethical alternatives to Kalshi?
- Metaculus and Good Judgment Open let you build real forecasting skill against a global crowd with no money ever at risk. If the appeal is actually trying to grow your money, Fidelity and Vanguard offer commission free index fund investing.
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