Trump Jr. urges Republican state AGs to drop prediction market opposition
Donald Trump Jr., a paid advisor to Kalshi and Polymarket, privately urged Republican state attorneys general not to oppose prediction markets, according to multiple reports. The outreach came as the CFTC sues nine states over jurisdictional authority and New York seeks $36 billion in damages from Kalshi. Trump Jr. also has financial ties to both platforms, and an investment firm linked to him is making a major bet on Polymarket.
The lobbying effort blurs the line between platform advocacy and partisan politics. Republican attorneys general who back off enforcement against Kalshi and Polymarket would leave Democratic-led states to carry the state-federal fight alone. That partisan split weakens the unified state front the CFTC is already suing. Kalshi gains breathing room in red states while its Nevada geofence and New York damages exposure deepen elsewhere.
Polymarket, also advised by Trump Jr., inherits the same uneven map. Traders on both platforms now face a patchwork where contract validity depends on which party holds a state's attorney general office, not just federal designation. The first Republican AG to publicly shift posture will signal whether Trump Jr.'s intervention carries actual enforcement weight or merely headlines.