A recent alliance between the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and Kalshi has ruffled feathers. The Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) has already severed ties with the organization and has refused to sponsor specific events over the inclusion of the prediction market platform.
Senator Argues NCPG Should Drop Kalshi as Its Members
Now, Minnesota state Senator John Marty has struck a similar antagonistic tone, arguing that the partnership between the NCPG and Kalshi was an “unholy alliance.”
The MGCB outright criticized the move, arguing that Kalshi was trying to bulldoze existing gambling regulations and remake them in its own image, which would greatly benefit the company itself, a sentiment that seems to be shared by Senator Marty.
Kalshi joined the NCPG in a bid to strengthen responsible gambling initiatives in the United States, despite the general criticism that if the platform does not itself offer gambling (which critics often say it does), then it makes no sense to partner up with the council in the first place.
In a letter to NCPG executive director Heather Maurer, Senator Marty has urged the organizaiton to cancel the prediction market’s membership, arguing that no amount of money could justify undermining the council’s mission to make gambling safer and protect those at risk.
The move comes after Kalshi vowed a $2-million contribution to support the NCPG’s efforts in advancing research and understanding of problem gambling in the United States and beyond.
Senator Marty insists that while Kalshi is generating a substantial part of its revenue from event contracts on sports (which he flatly describes as sports betting), the NCPG tagline for Kalshi makes no mention of “sports betting” whatsoever.
The senator is also loath to accept prediction market platforms’ argument that their offers do not constitute a form of gambling.
Legality of Prediction Markets Continues to Be an Issue
“Claiming something is legal doesn’t mean it is legal and certainly does not mean that they legalized it. They are suing Minnesota, when our law explicitly treats it as illegal. Many states have laws that consider Kalshi’s sports betting illegal. Contrary to the statement, instead of ‘building a safe, legal, regulated platform,’ Kalshi is opposing all state regulations, claiming federal preemption.”
Meanwhile, Kalshi faces more legal pushback in places such as Washington, Massachusetts, Nevada, and New York, among others, indicating that there is a strong movement determined to fight back against what, for many regulators in the existing climate, constitutes a form of gambling.