Kalshi Is Cozy With Trump — But It’s Ramping Up Dem Hires and Campaign Spending

Since January, prediction betting platform Kalshi has brought aboard former officials from Joe Biden's administration as a policy advisor and a top lobbyist, while its co-founders have funneled almost $1 million into federal candidate donations, with 37% of that, $377,000, earmarked for Democrats like Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, according to a recent report.

This spending surge reveals the growth in prediction market sites' Washington presence as regulators draft rules for the sector. Although the sites' close ties to the Trump administration have garnered attention, a report from progressive group Demand Progress highlights how the industry's influence operation transcends party lines.

"They've been hopeful they can have Democratic champions for their policy agenda," said Demand Progress' corporate power policy adviser, Ella Fanger. As Democrats control both chambers of Congress, Fanger predicts the companies will continue courting allies on both sides of the aisle. The hiring of ex-Biden officials and spending on Democratic candidates come as prediction markets face scrutiny over election betting and suspicious trades related to policy moves and military actions.

On Tuesday, lawmakers demanded Trump bar White House staffers from using the betting sites, anticipating investigations into their use in Washington. Kalshi's government relations head, John Bivona, a former Democratic staffer and Biden White House official, said the company is open to working across the ideological spectrum, having had discussions with lawmakers from both parties.

Kalshi and its rival Polymarket are the leading players in the prediction market industry, which has thrived under Donald Trump's administration due to its lenient regulatory approach. The ties between prediction betting sites and Trumpworld extend to the president's inner circle, as evidenced by Donald Trump Jr.'s financial stake in both companies.

While Kalshi has primarily hired establishment Democrats, Fanger warns that a compliant Congress could endorse the Trump administration's favorable regulations, allowing the industry to operate as gambling.