Kalshi, that most enterprising of financial acrobats, has thrown its weight behind a new advocacy group, Americans for Fair Markets, as the prediction market industry finds itself besieged by casinos, sportsbooks, state regulators, and Congress-a veritable pack of wolves in pinstripes.
Prediction market platform Kalshi, in a move as surprising as a penguin in a top hat, launched a new advocacy group to counter anti-prediction market lobbying in Washington.
– EyeWhales (@EyeWhales) May 25, 2026
Former Trump Aide Joins the Policy Push, Naturally
Taylor Budowich’s involvement grants the group a direct line to Republican political circles, a connection as valuable as a well-timed umbrella in a London downpour. Budowich, who recently served as deputy White House chief of staff under Susie Wiles, brings with him the kind of political pedigree that makes one wonder if he’s ever actually met a policy he couldn’t charm into submission.
John Bivona, Kalshi’s head of government relations and an AFM board member, declared the launch a response to “entrenched interests protecting their monopolies.” His words dripped with the kind of certainty that suggests he’s either very confident or very brave-or perhaps both.
“We’re not going to be outspent or out-organized by entrenched interests protecting their monopolies,” he said, a statement that might as well be the financial equivalent of a stiff upper lip and a monocle.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has opened an investigation into Kalshi and Polymarket, demanding records on user checks, geographic limits, and suspicious trading controls. One can only imagine the committee’s delight as they sift through the paperwork, perhaps dreaming of a world where everyone plays by the rules-or at least the same ones.
This probe follows concerns that users with non-public government information could profit from event contracts-a scenario as scandalous as a butler winning the lottery. Related reports also cited suspicious trades tied to geopolitical events and a U.S. Army master sergeant accused of earning $409,000 using classified information. One wonders if the sergeant also invested in a new wardrobe.
CFTC and States Remain Divided, As Always
Kalshi, ever the idealist, wishes to keep prediction markets under the CFTC’s watchful eye, while state regulators insist that certain event contracts-particularly those involving sports-are governed by local gambling laws. The resulting conflict is as harmonious as a jazz band playing a waltz.
As reported by crypto.news, this discord intensified after Kalshi and Polymarket lost bids in Nevada and Washington. A Ninth Circuit panel ruled that a federal derivatives defense does not automatically shift state gambling cases to federal court, a decision that left some scratching their heads with the intensity of a man trying to remember his own name.
Prediction Markets Expand Beyond Retail Trading, Naturally
Meanwhile, Kalshi has been making moves toward larger financial use cases, with Bernstein noting its first bespoke block trade as a step toward institutional event-risk trading. Clear Street, ever the trendsetter, added a regulated access route for larger clients, while Fox News agreed to stream Kalshi’s real-time probabilities across its channels-a partnership as unlikely as a penguin and a flamingo hosting a tea party.
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2026-05-25 08:37