Kalshi Ignites FIFA World Cup Buzz with Record Trading Surge

Prediction Markets Surge as World Cup Nears

The world’s most anticipated sporting event is significantly boosting the profile of prediction markets, with a record volume of outstanding bets culminating in a high-profile deal announced Friday between Kalshi and an official partner of the World Cup 2026.

ADI Predictstreet, a Gibraltar-licensed prediction market that unveiled a sponsorship deal with FIFA in April, announced it will collaborate with Kalshi as the competition heads into its knockout stage. Both brands are expected to be featured across stadiums, television broadcasts, and online advertisements.

In a blog post published by Andreessen Horowitz, a Kalshi investor, the venture capital firm highlighted that weekly trading volumes across prediction markets reached $14.5 billion for the first time last week. Concurrently, the value of outstanding bets hit a record for the third consecutive week, totaling $1.6 billion.

The data, compiled by Artemis—which includes Myriad, a prediction market owned by Decrypt’s parent company Dastan—underscores Kalshi’s leading position in sports wagers. Last week, Kalshi accounted for 62% of total trading volume, compared to Polymarket’s 28%.

Both prediction market platforms have intensified their marketing efforts with advertisements aired during broadcasts. Polymarket features American rapper Future in its ads, while Kalshi showcases athletes such as Croatia’s Luka Modrić.

The surge in interest has attracted numerous other companies eager to participate. DraftKings announced Friday in a press release the launch of its own prediction market, DKeX. The company indicated that its DraftKings Predictions product is anticipated to expand significantly next month, driven by heightened interest surrounding the World Cup.

As more teams advance in the tournament, some emerging prediction markets are also experiencing substantial growth. Rothera, an exchange to which Robinhood began directing wagers in late May, has seen its weekly trading volumes skyrocket from $2.1 million to $805 million, according to Artemis.

Analysts at asset manager Bernstein recently predicted that the World Cup could serve as a “watershed moment” for the prediction market sector, noting that platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase are leveraging the tournament to accelerate the growth of their respective offerings.