BBB ad watchdog refers Kalshi to FTC after influencer inquiry no-show
The Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division escalated its review of prediction-market platform Kalshi on Monday, June 8, 2026, after Kalshi declined to participate in a self-regulatory inquiry into its influencer and affiliate advertising on social media platforms including Instagram and X. The NAD, which handles advertising disputes through marketplace monitoring, will refer Kalshi to regulatory authorities including the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general for potential enforcement action. The inquiry centered on whether Kalshi's influencer endorsements comply with FTC advertising standards. Kalshi's refusal to cooperate with the voluntary process transformed a self-regulatory review into a formal government referral, exposing the platform to possible FTC action under Section 5 of the FTC Act and parallel state-level enforcement.
The NAD referral arms the FTC with a concrete advertising-compliance complaint alongside the separate congressional request for a broader prediction-market probe. Kalshi now faces potential FTC consent decrees and civil penalties on two tracks, adding advertising enforcement to its existing regulatory load of CFTC oversight and multiple state-court actions.
Nine House Democrats had already asked the FTC to probe prediction markets for consumer deception before the NAD escalated Kalshi's influencer marketing practices to the same agency, doubling the pressure on the platform from separate federal tracks.