Professional
poker champion Daniel Negreanu has entered a partnership with Kalshi, the
prediction market platform that allows users to trade on outcomes ranging
from sports to politics across 50 American states.
The
collaboration was announced today (Tuesday) by Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour,
who described parallels between Negreanu’s career journey and the
company’s own path through regulatory challenges. Negreanu, known
as “Kid Poker,” brings seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets
and over $56 million in tournament winnings to the partnership.
Tarek Mansour, the Founder and CEO of Kalshi
“Kalshi’s
fight for prediction markets has followed a similar path,” Mansour wrote
in announcing the partnership. “We have failed and been rejected more
times than I can remember, but we did not waver in our commitment to the
vision. Expand the world of financial markets, no matter the cost, no matter
the hardship”.
For critics
and regulators, however, this may serve as fodder and an argument that Kalshi’s
binary event contracts are closer to gambling than to investing.
The tie-up
comes as Kalshi faces mounting scrutiny from state regulators who argue the
platform operates more like a gambling venue than a legitimate financial
market. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy
Campbell recently sued Kalshi for alleged illegal gambling operations,
with the state’s Gaming Commission pushing for an injunction to remove
sports contracts from the market.
Critics
point to the selection of a poker professional as brand ambassador
as potentially reinforcing concerns about Kalshi’s resemblance to gambling
operations. While Kalshi insists it provides “legitimate
hedging” similar to commodity futures markets, the platform’s
public messaging regularly invites customers to “bet” on
outcomes.
A few
months ago, in
the article “Still Investing or Already Binary Options Gambling,” I looked
for an answer to the question of what Kalshi’s products really are, as they had
already sparked some controversy at the start of trading.
Negreanu,
however, expressed enthusiasm for the platform’s capabilities, tweeting:
“On Kalshi, you can trade on everything from Football to Politics to Pop
Culture — it’s a game-changer and available in all 50 States!”.
Excited to announce my partnership with @Kalshi
To celebrate, I’m staking one of YOU into the Super Main Event at @WSOP Paradise
On Kalshi, you can trade on everything from Football to Politics to Pop Culture — it’s a game-changer and available in all 50 States!
Details here: pic.twitter.com/hjwDbLzikd
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 16, 2025
Billion-Dollar Battle
Intensifies
The
partnership announcement comes just a day after Kalshi’s key partner Robinhood
filed federal lawsuits seeking
to block Massachusetts regulators from enforcing state gambling laws.
According to court documents, roughly $1 billion worth of Kalshi contracts
traded through Robinhood’s platform during the second quarter alone.
“Sports
wagering comes with significant risk of addiction and financial loss and must
be strictly regulated to mitigate public health consequences,” Campbell
stated when announcing the state’s lawsuit against Kalshi.
Pennsylvania’s
Gaming Control Board has argued that sports prediction markets operating under
federal oversight directly challenge states’ authority to regulate gambling
within their borders.
In August,
Kalshi and Robinhood Markets faced
another federal lawsuit filed by the Ho-Chunk Nation, a federally
recognized tribal nation in Wisconsin that operates several gaming facilities
under a state compact permitting sports betting on tribal lands.
Join IG,
CMC, and Robinhood in London’s leading trading industry event!
Star Power Meets
Market Volatility
Negreanu’s
involvement includes staking a fan into the WSOP Paradise Super Main
Event. The Canadian-born player, who moved to Las Vegas in his early twenties
after initially failing as a professional, eventually became the youngest
WSOP champion in 1998 at age 23.
Kalshi has
processed over $1 billion in trades on 3.4 million sports propositions
since launching sports markets, despite earlier court arguments that such
contracts constituted prohibited “gaming” under federal rules. The Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has yet to weigh in on the platform’s current
operations, having canceled a planned public roundtable on prediction
markets in April.
The
company currently serves roughly two million users nationwide,
though regulatory challenges continue mounting in key states
where officials maintain that sports event contracts mirror
traditional sports betting without proper licensing or taxation.
Professional
poker champion Daniel Negreanu has entered a partnership with Kalshi, the
prediction market platform that allows users to trade on outcomes ranging
from sports to politics across 50 American states.
The
collaboration was announced today (Tuesday) by Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour,
who described parallels between Negreanu’s career journey and the
company’s own path through regulatory challenges. Negreanu, known
as “Kid Poker,” brings seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets
and over $56 million in tournament winnings to the partnership.
Tarek Mansour, the Founder and CEO of Kalshi
“Kalshi’s
fight for prediction markets has followed a similar path,” Mansour wrote
in announcing the partnership. “We have failed and been rejected more
times than I can remember, but we did not waver in our commitment to the
vision. Expand the world of financial markets, no matter the cost, no matter
the hardship”.
For critics
and regulators, however, this may serve as fodder and an argument that Kalshi’s
binary event contracts are closer to gambling than to investing.
The tie-up
comes as Kalshi faces mounting scrutiny from state regulators who argue the
platform operates more like a gambling venue than a legitimate financial
market. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy
Campbell recently sued Kalshi for alleged illegal gambling operations,
with the state’s Gaming Commission pushing for an injunction to remove
sports contracts from the market.
Critics
point to the selection of a poker professional as brand ambassador
as potentially reinforcing concerns about Kalshi’s resemblance to gambling
operations. While Kalshi insists it provides “legitimate
hedging” similar to commodity futures markets, the platform’s
public messaging regularly invites customers to “bet” on
outcomes.
A few
months ago, in
the article “Still Investing or Already Binary Options Gambling,” I looked
for an answer to the question of what Kalshi’s products really are, as they had
already sparked some controversy at the start of trading.
Negreanu,
however, expressed enthusiasm for the platform’s capabilities, tweeting:
“On Kalshi, you can trade on everything from Football to Politics to Pop
Culture — it’s a game-changer and available in all 50 States!”.
Excited to announce my partnership with @Kalshi
To celebrate, I’m staking one of YOU into the Super Main Event at @WSOP Paradise
On Kalshi, you can trade on everything from Football to Politics to Pop Culture — it’s a game-changer and available in all 50 States!
Details here: pic.twitter.com/hjwDbLzikd
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 16, 2025
Billion-Dollar Battle
Intensifies
The
partnership announcement comes just a day after Kalshi’s key partner Robinhood
filed federal lawsuits seeking
to block Massachusetts regulators from enforcing state gambling laws.
According to court documents, roughly $1 billion worth of Kalshi contracts
traded through Robinhood’s platform during the second quarter alone.
“Sports
wagering comes with significant risk of addiction and financial loss and must
be strictly regulated to mitigate public health consequences,” Campbell
stated when announcing the state’s lawsuit against Kalshi.
Pennsylvania’s
Gaming Control Board has argued that sports prediction markets operating under
federal oversight directly challenge states’ authority to regulate gambling
within their borders.
In August,
Kalshi and Robinhood Markets faced
another federal lawsuit filed by the Ho-Chunk Nation, a federally
recognized tribal nation in Wisconsin that operates several gaming facilities
under a state compact permitting sports betting on tribal lands.
Join IG,
CMC, and Robinhood in London’s leading trading industry event!
Star Power Meets
Market Volatility
Negreanu’s
involvement includes staking a fan into the WSOP Paradise Super Main
Event. The Canadian-born player, who moved to Las Vegas in his early twenties
after initially failing as a professional, eventually became the youngest
WSOP champion in 1998 at age 23.
Kalshi has
processed over $1 billion in trades on 3.4 million sports propositions
since launching sports markets, despite earlier court arguments that such
contracts constituted prohibited “gaming” under federal rules. The Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has yet to weigh in on the platform’s current
operations, having canceled a planned public roundtable on prediction
markets in April.
The
company currently serves roughly two million users nationwide,
though regulatory challenges continue mounting in key states
where officials maintain that sports event contracts mirror
traditional sports betting without proper licensing or taxation.
