Kalshi volume hits $60bn a month as relapse stories mount

Kalshi says its exchange model lacks the predatory incentives of sportsbooks, calling the case cherry-picked.

The hit

A 35-year-old Pennsylvania man who self-excluded from DraftKings & FanDuel after filing for bankruptcy says he relapsed on Kalshi, according to NPR. He says an Instagram ad with a cash bonus led him more than $25,000 in the red before Kalshi barred him, after he made repeated requests to close his account.

Why it matters

Kalshi & Polymarket have not sought approval by states, according to NPR, so they do not follow state-mandated protections for problem gamblers that sportsbooks must follow. Abdullah Mahmood, a problem gambling counsellor at Maryhaven, says some clients who self-excluded from sportsbooks have fallen into prediction markets instead.

The record

Prior sportsbook debt	$75,000 in credit card & loan debt; $50,000+ to online sportsbooks (NPR)
Bankruptcy filing	Late 2023, federal court records cited by NPR
Account closure requests	3 separate email requests plus a chat request, before Kalshi barred him (NPR)
Platform volume	Nearly $60bn wagered on Kalshi last month vs $2.8bn a year earlier (TickerTracker, via NPR)

What happens next

Watch whether US state regulators or Congress move to extend sportsbook-style self-exclusion rules to prediction market exchanges like Kalshi & Polymarket.

Sources: He was banned by betting sites. Then he relapsed on Kalshi : NPR

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