Home · Sports · Oct 8 archive
Former Senator Who Fought Prediction Markets Now Lobbies for Kalshi
Confirmed
In Short: Former Senator Blanche Lincoln, who once warned against prediction markets, now lobbies for Kalshi after receiving $480,000 from the firm.
Former Senator Blanche Lincoln, who played a key role in regulating prediction markets, is now lobbying for Kalshi, a prediction market exchange, according to Ars Technica. Lincoln’s firm has received $480,000 from Kalshi since 2024 to advocate for looser regulation of event contracts.
In 2010, Lincoln warned that prediction markets could evade gambling laws by offering 'event contracts' that allow people to place wagers on sports games. She argued that such contracts do not serve a real commercial purpose and could harm the public.
Lincoln’s comments as a senator are still frequently cited to support strict rules against sports betting and other kinds of bets on prediction markets. However, she now lobbies for Kalshi to help the prediction market industry avoid regulation.
Ars Technica reports that the Biden-era CFTC assumed sports bets on prediction markets were prohibited under a ban on event contracts related to gaming issued during the Obama administration. However, Kalshi and other prediction market platforms argue that states do not have the authority to govern them because they are regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Kalshi has spent at least $3 million in 2026 on lobbying and campaign contributions, according to OpenSecrets. The firm has also banned former Republican congressman George Santos for life after finding he misled the public about attending President Trump's State of the Union address to make a profit.
Lincoln told the Biden CFTC that unlike elections and other major events, the results of sports matches do not have 'significant economic consequences,' indicating they aren’t suitable for event contracts. She made it clear that the law’s purpose was to prevent trading that would be harmful to the public.
The Trump administration is backing the prediction market industry, according to Ars Technica. The CFTC is on track to hire roughly 100 employees in mission-critical areas by the end of 2026.
State authorities argue that prediction market platforms should be subject to the same local regulations as gambling products. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has accused Polymarket of knowingly violating state law and putting New Yorkers at risk.
Kalshi has launched cricket prediction markets for users in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, according to CBS Sports. The firm is also moving to end a program that pays traders for generating volume, nearly a year before it was scheduled to expire.
Despite the shift in Lincoln’s stance, she remains a key figure in the debate over prediction markets. Her lobbying for Kalshi highlights the ongoing tension between federal and state regulation of these platforms.
The accounts agree that Lincoln, who once warned against prediction markets, now lobbies for Kalshi, illustrating the complex regulatory landscape surrounding these platforms.
What this adds
Former Senator Blanche Lincoln's shift from opposing to supporting prediction markets underscores the evolving regulatory environment. The sources have not established a direct link between her lobbying and specific regulatory outcomes.
Background
Former Senator Blanche Lincoln, who once warned against prediction markets, now lobbies for Kalshi after receiving $480,000 from the firm.
Kalshi, a federally-regulated prediction market exchange, has launched cricket prediction markets for users in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, according to CBS Sports.
What's confirmed
- Lincoln told the Biden CFTC that unlike elections and other major events, the results of sports matches do not have “significant economic consequences,” indicating that they aren’t suitable for event contracts.
- Prediction market platforms have argued states do not have the authority to govern them because they are regulated at the federal level by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
What's still developing
- “It would be quite easy to construct an event contract around sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby, and Masters golf tournament,” Lincoln, who played a key role in making the law that now regulates prediction markets, told fellow senators.
- Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more.
- Earlier this month, multiple news outlets reported that President Trump’s teleprompter operator has been placing profitable bets on Kalshi regarding the content of Trump’s forthcoming speeches.
- Lawmakers at the Capitol are moving to ban prediction markets that critics say are just gambling in disguise.
- “While prediction markets represent financial innovation across many sectors, there are real concerns that they function much like traditional sports betting without the enforcement of state regulators and attorneys general,” Blackburn said.
- A lobbyist for the group representing controversial out-of-state online betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel is turning up the pressure on “key Senate Republican staff” to kill an online betting bill that could come to the floor this week.
- Last updated: September 3, 2026 | Last verified: September 3, 2026 I’ve had active accounts on three prediction market platforms since January 2026 and have been monitoring most of the lot that’s now live in the U.S. Some I check daily, while others I’ve opened, tested a bit, and largely moved on from.
- SportsLine's proven computer model and one of its NFL experts have analyzed SNF and revealed their Panthers vs. Lions prediction, and you can also read our NFL betting preview for Sunday Night Football.
- The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Markets.com.
- Check out our soccer expert’s Real Madrid vs Inter Milan predictions and betting tips, prior to Tuesday’s 3pm ET Champions League clash (09/08).
- "The Trump administration had run partially on a platform that it would be friendlier to the crypto industry," Le Rich said.
- Fort Wayne, IN Legal News, Information & Blogs New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Polymarket on Thursday, accusing the prediction-market company of operating an illegal gambling business and escalating a nationwide fight over who has authority to regulate markets tied to sports and other real-world events.