Kalshi launches $1 million grant for up to 50 midterm election studies
Prediction market platform Kalshi has launched a $1 million research grant program to support up to 50 independent studies using prediction market data. The program targets U.S. midterm election research. Kalshi announced the initiative on November 11. Details on application deadlines, selection criteria, or individual grant sizes were not disclosed in available announcements. The move comes as Kalshi's midterm wagering volume has climbed past $3 billion, nearly triple its 2024 peak.
The grant turns Kalshi's record midterm volume into academic credibility it can deploy in court. Ohio and Tennessee attorneys general claim event contracts are disguised gambling; peer-reviewed studies showing predictive utility would undercut that argument directly. Kalshi needs this research completed before likely 2027 state proceedings, yet academic timelines rarely match litigation schedules.
If studies validate forecast accuracy, Kalshi gains expert testimony and media talking points. If they find noise rather than signal, state litigators gain ammunition of their own. The $1 million is cheap insurance against a single adverse state ruling that could fracture partner-dependent platforms and crater the revenue line Robinhood and others already depend on.
Joins a run of pre-election positioning by Kalshi that includes $2.5 billion in midterm wagers and a $40 billion Series G, as the platform builds legal and academic firepower against state gambling challenges.