Kalshi becomes first prediction market to join problem gambling council with $2M pledge
Prediction market platform Kalshi on Monday, May 18, became the first prediction market operator to join the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), committing $2 million over two years to the nonprofit under a new Financial Services & Trading subcategory. The membership, announced by NCPG senior policy advisor Cole Wogoman in a LinkedIn post, funds trader health and safety initiatives as Kalshi builds responsible gaming infrastructure alongside its expanding event contract offerings. The move comes as Kalshi faces escalating opposition from gaming interests and processes record volume — over $14 billion in April alone — while navigating intensifying scrutiny over consumer protection safeguards and gambling addiction risks.
Kalshi's $2 million NCPG membership arms it with a responsible-gaming credential as Minnesota lawmakers advance a felony ban and Rhode Island's attorney general sues the platform, giving Kalshi a tangible counterargument in statehouses that its safeguards match sportsbook standards.
Joins a running set of four state-level legal battles — Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island — where the CFTC and state attorneys general are now fighting prediction-market preemption on parallel tracks, with tribal sovereignty adding a fifth front.