Prediction market platform Kalshi’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tarek Mansour, announced that the company processed $441 million in trading activity since the Dallas Cowboys faced the Philadelphia Eagles on 4 September. Kalshi reported record-breaking numbers before the first week of the National Football League’s (NFL) season concluded. It concluded on Monday night with the Minnesota Vikings against the Chicago Bears.
The first week of the NFL season is traditionally one of the busiest periods for US sportsbooks. Ahead of the NFL season opener, Kalshi expanded its sports offering, rolling out prop-style and parlay-style markets designed to mimic popular sportsbook features.
According to Mansour, nearly $200 million in trades took place on Sunday alone, with most tied to NFL markets. “NFL week 1 is equal to a U.S. election,” he wrote on X. “Probably nothing.” US elections have historically been Kalshi’s most active markets, but the first round of NFL games has already produced similar levels of engagement.
Kalshi has done $441m of volume since NFL kickoff.
— Tarek Mansour (@mansourtarek_) September 8, 2025
NFL week 1 is equal to a US election.
Probably nothing. pic.twitter.com/l08dshJ2eN
Kalshi’s $441 million figure highlights trading activity but does not equate to sportsbook handle. Handle refers to the total amount wagered by customers, while trading volume counts every buy and sell transaction.
From politics to sports
Founded in 2018, Kalshi initially made headlines with its event contracts on US politics and macroeconomic events. In 2024, its markets on the presidential election drew national attention. Political contracts were live, and the platform recorded more than 3 million dollars traded in a single week, reflecting strong demand for event-based speculation. Kalshi’s CEO Tarek Mansour described the decision as “a new era for financial markets,” according to Reuters.
Fast-forward to 2025, and the company has built out a sportsbook-style product offering NFL futures, single-game outcomes, and newly introduced prop and parlay markets. SBC Americas quoted a Kalshi spokesperson, who explained that the move was driven by “surging demand for legal and regulated choices.”
The positioning has blurred the lines between a derivatives exchange and a traditional sportsbook. In recent marketing campaigns, Kalshi has used gambling terms such as “bet” and “wager” while also incorporating NFL and NFL Players Association imagery, reportedly without approval.
Limited NFL offering compared with sportsbooks
Despite its growing appeal, Kalshi’s NFL markets reportedly remain limited compared to the broad range of bets available on major sportsbook apps like DraftKings or FanDuel. Its edge lies in geographic reach, as Kalshi operates in states that have yet to legalise online sports betting.
Speaking at the Bank of America Gaming & Lodging Conference, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins questioned whether prediction markets can ever match the depth of traditional sportsbooks. “If you think about it conceptually, it’s going to be very difficult to ever have as full-featured an offering in a prediction market setup as you could in an online sportsbook,” Robins said.
“I just think it’s virtually impossible under that type of regulatory framework to ever have something that could be as rich and varied as what you see in an online sportsbook. It’s clearly, in my mind, going to be challenging for that product to compete. But I think where you don’t have anything else, it’s pretty good.”
CFTC-SEC roundtable on the horizon
In related news, The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will convene a joint roundtable on September 29, with event contracts and prediction markets at the top of the agenda. The move comes amid growing concerns over fragmented oversight and the rapid evolution of derivatives markets.
In a joint statement issued September 5, the agencies warned that “novel products” are clouded by legal uncertainty and inconsistent regulation. The statement, while not explicitly naming companies, appears to reference emerging markets such as cryptocurrency trading and event contracts offered by operators like Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood, including those available in US states that have not legalised sports betting.
