Kalshi is tightening oversight on its prediction markets platform as betting activity accelerates ahead of the Super Bowl and regulatory scrutiny intensifies.
The company said it is expanding surveillance through an independent advisory committee and new partnerships aimed at detecting insider trading and market manipulation.
The move comes just days before Super Bowl 60, one of the largest betting events in the US, with more than $168 million already wagered on Kalshi’s markets.
The changes reflect growing pressure on prediction platforms to demonstrate stronger controls as trading volumes swell around major events.
Regulators and lawmakers have increasingly questioned whether existing safeguards are sufficient to prevent abuse, particularly when markets are linked to high-profile political or sporting outcomes.
Expanded oversight framework
Kalshi said the new advisory committee will provide quarterly briefings to the company’s outside counsel and publish statistics on investigations into suspicious trading activity.
The company is also partnering with crypto trading surveillance firm Solidus Labs and Daniel Taylor, director of the Wharton Forensic Analytics Lab, to help detect, investigate, and address market abuse.
Pleased to announce that I will be working with @Kalshi to detect and deter insider trading. We aim to set the gold standard in market transparency, and EXCEED the level of protections and transparency provided by major exchanges.
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The committee includes Lisa Pinheiro, a managing principal and data scientist at Analysis Group, who focuses on market manipulation.
Kalshi has also appointed its lawyer, Robert DeNault, as head of enforcement to coordinate investigations with the committee.
In addition, former US Treasury official Brian Nelson has been hired to advise on trading surveillance and compliance matters.
Super Bowl trading focus
The timing of the surveillance expansion is closely tied to Super Bowl 60, which traditionally draws peak activity across sports-related markets.
With more than $168 million already placed on Kalshi contracts linked to the event, the company faces heightened expectations to monitor trading patterns and flag irregular behaviour during periods of heavy volume.
Prediction markets tied to major sporting events have expanded rapidly, covering a wide range of outcomes.
That growth has also amplified concerns around information asymmetry, particularly where details related to broadcasts or event logistics could be known in advance by insiders.
Regulatory pressure builds
Kalshi’s move comes as prediction markets face growing attention from regulators and Congress.
Federal lawmakers introduced a bill last month aimed at restricting trading by government insiders after a Polymarket user reportedly made thousands of dollars betting on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro being captured days before US forces captured him in Caracas.
At the state level, Kalshi is among several platforms targeted by regulators who argue that sports-related event contracts amount to illegal gambling.
Kalshi and other prediction market operators have rejected that view, maintaining that their products fall under federal commodities regulation.
Margin trading plans
Alongside its surveillance push, Kalshi is seeking regulatory approval to offer margin trading in the US, according to a Financial Times report.
Experts said the move is intended to attract more institutional investors.
Margin trading on event contracts could be structured similarly to futures contracts, where traders post a fraction of the contract’s value and settle when it closes.
Kalshi has reportedly been in discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for several months.
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