SF Giants fans slam Kalshi ad disguised as highlight package
The San Francisco Giants used their official X account Wednesday to post a Kalshi advertisement designed to look like a game highlight package, drawing fan criticism on social media. One fan called the promotion 'absolutely shameful.' The post masqueraded as team content while promoting the CFTC-regulated prediction market platform, marking a rare tie-up between a Major League Baseball club and an event-contract exchange.
The disguised-ad tactic puts Kalshi's MLB partnerships back in the spotlight just as state attorneys general are searching for evidence that event-contract platforms market to local fans like unlicensed sportsbooks. The Giants post is the kind of social promotion that a Massachusetts or California judge could cite as proof Kalshi targets in-state consumers, undermining its federal preemption defense.
Each new team deal widens this attack surface: every stadium sign and sponsored tweet becomes a potential exhibit in the next state filing. Kalshi spent heavily on exclusivity to outflank DraftKings Predicts and Robinhood Derivatives in states that block sportsbooks, but that same visibility makes its partnerships the first litigation targets. If a court ties a specific ad to a specific state, geofencing alone may not save the contract.
The Giants ad joins Kalshi's deals with five MLB teams, expanding a stadium-and-social strategy that courts fans directly but also invites state attorneys general to treat each partnership as a local gambling promotion subject to local bans.