Kalshi’s Record Weekend Puts Sports Contracts Under Scrutiny

Kalshi's weekend trade volume broke the $6 billion mark, with the NFL driving the majority of the activity, according to TickerTracker. The platform saw the largest weekend trading on record, just seven days after its previous best. Each day of the weekend surpassed $3 billion in volume individually. Sports made up 26.2% of Saturday's activity, with parlay-style contracts accounting for the remaining 63.6%.

Sunday's volume added an additional $3.1 billion, surpassing the two-day record of $4.89 billion set just the previous weekend. Prediction-market activity across tracked platforms hit $7.64 billion for the two-day period, up 20% from the prior weekend. This surge in sports contracts has come amid increasing legal pressure. A Ninth Circuit ruling against Kalshi in a case brought by California tribes has put the sports contracts under direct legal challenge on tribal lands.

Additionally, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has ordered several prediction-market operators, including Kalshi and Polymarket, to cease offering sports event contracts in Missouri until they secure sports-wagering licenses. Despite these challenges, Kalshi and its competitors continue to set record-breaking volumes, raising questions about how courts and state regulators will resolve the licensing issue in the coming weeks.