Kalshi has confirmed sponsorship agreements with five Major League Baseball franchises as it builds visibility around national professional sports. The prediction market operator has partnered with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.
The agreements will place Kalshi branding across stadium signage, digital channels and promotional campaigns, while some deals may also include exclusive offers for fans using the platform.
Several partnerships were visible before the formal announcement. Kalshi branding had appeared on digital outfield displays and behind home plate at Los Angeles Dodgers games, while the Red Sox had featured the company in social media content promoting a series against the San Francisco Giants.
The Red Sox were also reported to have emailed subscribers encouraging them to explore Kalshi’s platform. Earlier this year, Kalshi announced a FIFA World Cup-related collaboration through ADI Predictstreet and indicated interest in working with MLB.
Regulatory resistance continues around sports event contracts
Kalshi maintains that its sports event contracts are financial products regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over gambling products governed by state betting laws.
The company argues that users trade contracts based on the probability of future outcomes, which it says distinguishes prediction markets from conventional sports betting. State regulators, tribal gaming organisations and licensed sportsbook operators have challenged that interpretation.
Their position is that sports event contracts closely resemble wagers and should therefore be subject to the same licensing, taxation and consumer-protection requirements as regulated sportsbooks.
Court battles intensify across Massachusetts, California and Nevada
In Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed legal action against Kalshi in 2025, alleging that the company was offering sports wagering without a state licence. A later court ruling allowed authorities to restrict access to Kalshi’s sports markets while litigation continues before the Supreme Judicial Court.
In California, tribal gaming organisations including Blue Lake Rancheria, Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians and Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians have challenged Kalshi’s operations through the courts.
Nevada regulators have also increased pressure. The Nevada Gaming Control Board recently told a state court that Kalshi failed to comply with an order requiring it to stop offering sports, election and entertainment event contracts by a court-imposed deadline.
Regulators said users were still able to access contracts from inside Nevada and have sought financial penalties. Kalshi rejected the allegations, saying it introduced a GeoComply-powered geofencing system and took extensive measures to block users in restricted jurisdictions.
New York investigation adds scrutiny to Kalshi’s marketing activity
Legal disputes are now being joined by broader questions about how prediction markets are promoted. Earlier this month, the New York City Council launched an investigation into the marketing practices of Kalshi, Polymarket, Coinbase and Gemini Titan.
The inquiry is examining whether advertising, influencer partnerships or promotional campaigns could encourage participation among younger consumers. Despite the growing regulatory pressure, prediction markets continue attracting massive interest from investors, consumers and sports organisations.
Bernstein has projected that annual prediction market trading volume could reach $1 trillion by 2030.
Kalshi’s MLB deals are a major visibility boost for prediction markets, but they also increase the tension between its commercial growth and unresolved regulatory status. The partnerships will help normalise prediction markets with sports fans, while giving regulators more reason to scrutinise how these products are classified.
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