Kalshi is expanding its football prediction markets for both college and NFL that can be traded on across the country.
Three markets – spread, totals and touchdown props – were self-certified by Kalshi on Monday. This expansion makes sports predictions an even bigger football betting competitor for regulated sportsbooks across the country.
So far, Kalshi has offered markets for NFL preseason games on who will win each game. Through two weeks, Kalshi has seen around $9 million in volume on preseason games.
The addition of touchdown props, spreads and totals would significantly increase that volume.
Kalshi availability remains unsettled in courts
Whether Kalshi should even be allowed to offer sports prediction markets is still in a legally gray area.
Courts in Nevada and New Jersey, for example, ruled to keep the status quo, meaning any markets on Kalshi and others regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission should be decided by the CFTC and not state gaming commissions.
Maryland‘s District Court disagreed, arguing that the Kalshi must prove that Congress intended to strip states of the right to regulate gambling within its borders.
Sportsbooks still have advantage over predictions
There are two reasons why legal, regulated sports betting operators will remain the betting destination of choice for most mass-market bettors: player props and parlays.
While Kalshi now allows betting on who will or will not score a touchdown, sportsbooks have a much larger offering of prop bets available on multiple statistics.
Add in the ability to parlay just about any bets available and it is easy to see why many bettors will continue to pick sportsbooks for NFL betting if prediction markets remain limited.
Sports betting operators watching prediction markets
If Kalshi begins to expand and start to eat into market share, or if sports prediction markets are given the all-clear legally, sports betting operators do not plan to be left out.
Just about every regulated sportsbook operator that reported second-quarter earnings said they are monitoring the daily movements in the sports prediction space. No one operator has given specific information on what their plans will be, but it certainly seems the major operators will be ready to act on sports prediction markets if they do not go away.
“We continue to monitor events surrounding federally regulated prediction markets and are actively exploring ways to enhance shareholder value through this opportunity,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said. “We value our relationships with both industry stakeholders and policymakers and will work collaboratively as we evaluate next steps.”
