With Kalshi, two MIT math nerds crack open gambling on Wall Street

Saturday, May 31, 2025 11:00 AM
Image aggregated from Bloomberg News.
  • Justina Lee, Bloomberg News

During its short existence, Kalshi has taken a battering ram to the regulatory establishment in its bid to give Americans the inalienable right to bet on just about everything. The US election, Taylor Swift’s next hit, volcanic eruptions, and even the Rotten Tomatoes score for How to Train Your Dragon.

Now, the seven-year old financial exchange is taking it to a whole new level by using its federal financial license to open up sports gambling nationwide, even in states where it is not legal.

The move has earned the New York-based prediction market cease-and-desist letters from state gaming agencies, and accusations that it is little more than a high-tech casino operating in a legal gray zone.