Kalshi adds 3 million new users as prediction market capitalizes on the World Cup

Prediction market platform Kalshi has brought in 3 million new users over the course of the FIFA World Cup. The soccer tournament has also sent trading volumes higher on the platform as speculators seek to place trades on the games.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has sent prediction market trading volumes across platforms soaring. And for Kalshi, it has delivered millions of new users. Kalshi has brought in 3 million new users over the course of the tournament, the company shared with CNBC. More than $1.2 billion has been traded on Kalshi's contracts that ask traders to predict the winner of the World Cup, a record for a singular market. That market will officially close on Sunday, after Spain and Argentina compete in the final for the title.

I don't think there's any game like football. It's played in about every country in the world … so in just terms of the total addressable market, there's really nothing that comes close to the FIFA World Cup.

Across the World Cup, Kalshi has made several moves to boost its brand. Those include a partnership with the official prediction market sponsor of the World Cup, ADI Predictstreet, to feature co-branding advertisements in stadiums. It also partnered with OpenAI last week to feature the company's contract's odds when users search about games in the tournament on ChatGPT. But it also has featured a slew of advertisements with key faces in the soccer world: Croatian soccer star Luka Modric, longtime Real Madrid coach José Mourinho, and even a partnership with the Argentina national team. That deal got the company a feature in a post by superstar Lionel Messi on Instagram.

Our volumes are where the news is at. It's a lot of the approach for the World Cup. … The most important thing is enable creativity based on what's happening. Speed is key, too. One advertisement featuring former professional soccer stars playing a scrimmage with each other released on Friday was conceived, executed and released in 24 hours, Mansour said. But Kalshi also launched ads with non-soccer celebrities around the tournament, too. An advertisement with actor Timothee Chalamet was released in June — around when he was garnering attention for his appearances at New York Knicks games during the NBA Finals — while a spot with Colombian singer J Balvin came out this month.

This is also a way for them to say, 'oh, but we're also relevant to all these other people who might not be that interested in sports, too.' They're seizing this moment to remind people about the ubiquitousness of what these prediction markets are. Leaning heavily into the sports event comes with risks, too. Sports event contracts are under scrutiny in a dispute between the federal government and the states. States argue those contract...