The worlds of gambling and trading inched closer together Monday morning, when Kalshi and the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) announced a $2 million, two-year partnership centered on trader health and safety.
In order to bring Kalshi aboard, the NCPG created a new subcategory for membership, calling it the “Financial Services & Trading Subcategory.”
“NCPG’s goal has always been to mitigate harm by increasing education, awareness, and understanding of risky behaviors, while ensuring access to trusted, scientific, and evidence-based information and healthcare resources,” Heather L. Maurer, executive director of NCPG, said in a press release. “Innovation and responsibility can and must evolve together. Kalshi’s engagement demonstrates a commitment to mitigating harm before it occurs and ensuring support resources are accessible when they are needed.”
Kalshi is joining NCPG as a “Platinum-level” member, per the release, and is the first company in the subcategory.
Not gambling
The press release stated that what Kalshi offers is not gambling, but that its prediction market platform is a “novel” product that has joined the financial markets category, adding to a list that includes stock and index trading, commodity options, crypto, and levered commodity futures.
The new subcategory will “expand education and awareness of responsible trading across these markets through the development of practical, evidence-informed, and data-driven resources designed to keep pace with rapidly evolving platforms,” per the release.
“At Kalshi, we believe in the power of prediction markets, and we are sensitive to the fact that they, like any financial trading products, come with risks,” said Tarek Mansour, co-founder and CEO of Kalshi. “As prediction markets continue to evolve, we are deeply committed to setting a new standard for responsible trading by investing in the tools, education, and protections needed to promote healthy participation and customer safety and hope that over time all trading platforms with significant retail participation follow suit.”
