Kalshi’s co-founders defended the prediction-market company in a recent Axios interview, saying it helps reduce uncertainty and operates within the rules. They argued the platform is more like a market exchange than a casino. The comments come as the company faces growing criticism from politicians and anti-gambling activists.
The founders said Kalshi serves people, businesses, institutions, and governments by offering an unbiased source of information about future events. They also said the company is not on the other side of trades and instead earns revenue by taking a cut of wins and selling data to institutions. Kalshi has also been sued by numerous states, according to Axios.
Axios said Kalshi took nearly $13 billion in bets last month. The outlet also reported that the company is raising new private funding at a $22 billion valuation, a figure the founders did not dispute on the show. The founders said sports markets make up a large share of activity, with about 70% of March volume tied to sports.
The company’s next phase appears to hinge on whether it can keep growing while facing legal and regulatory scrutiny. Supporters see prediction markets as a useful source of information and liquidity. Critics argue that heavy sports trading weakens the case that the platform is mainly about forecasting rather than gambling.
A caveat is that much of the available detail comes from the founders’ public defense of the business and Axios’s reporting, so the company’s claims should be read alongside the ongoing state lawsuits and criticism from anti-gambling groups.