Kalshi has secured World Cup branding exposure through a strategic partnership with ADI Predictstreet, FIFA’s official prediction market partner for the 2026 tournament. Summary Kalshi will receive FIFA World Cup branding exposure through its partnership with ADI Predictstreet. The agreement expands Kalshi’s sports strategy as trading volume tops $1 billion per day. The deal comes as Kalshi pursues a $40 billion valuation and challenges Illinois’ licensing law. According to Kalshi, the agreement will place the company’s branding alongside ADI Predictstreet across stadium, television, and digital coverage beginning with the FIFA World Cup knockout stage. Although Kalshi is not an official FIFA partner, the arrangement gives the prediction market operator visibility at the tournament while ADI Predictstreet retains its official designation. The companies said the relationship extends beyond tournament marketing. Kalshi will support the continued expansion of markets available on ADI Predictstreet’s platform as the partnership develops after the World Cup. Why is Kalshi increasing its presence in sports? The World Cup agreement adds to a series of football-focused partnerships announced by Kalshi in recent months. According to the company, it has also partnered with the Argentine Football Association, the Croatian Football Federation, Luka Modric, and Men in Blazers as it increases its presence around major sporting events. At the same time, trading activity on the platform has continued to accelerate. Kalshi said daily trading volume surpassed $1 billion last week during heightened World Cup engagement across prediction market platforms. Bank of America estimated that Kalshi accounts for roughly 89% of measured U.S. prediction market volume, placing it well ahead of other regulated competitors. Commenting on the partnership, ADI Predictstreet Chief Executive Dimitrios Psarrakis said combining Kalshi’s market reach with ADI Chain’s infrastructure would introduce regulated prediction markets to more users worldwide. Kalshi Chief Executive Tarek Mansour described the FIFA World Cup as an opportunity to increase awareness of the platform while encouraging more fan participation through prediction markets. According to FIFA, ADI Predictstreet became the governing body’s first official prediction market partner in April before launching its Gibraltar-licensed platform ahead of the tournament. The service currently focuses on football-related markets and plans to expand into news, technology, entertainment, culture, and other real-world events. The expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup features 104 matches across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, creating one of the largest global audiences for sports-related prediction products. What else is shaping Kalshi’s expansion? The World Cup partnership comes as Kalshi continues expanding both commercially and legally. Earlier this week, the company filed a federal lawsuit challenging Illinois Senate Bill 3019, arguing that the state cannot require separate licenses for federally regulated sports event contracts. In its complaint, Kalshi said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has exclusive authority over its contracts under the Commodity Exchange Act and argued that complying with Illinois’ licensing system would conflict with its obligation to operate a single national market. Separately, Kalshi has entered discussions to raise fresh capital at a valuation of about $40 billion, according to reports. If completed, the financing would represent an 82% increase from the company’s $22 billion valuation during its $1 billion funding round in May, which included Coatue, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and Morgan Stanley. The latest developments also coincide with increased attention on the prediction market sector. Earlier this week, U.S. senators urged the CFTC to investigate Polymarket over allegations that it used deceptive advertising to reach American users despite restricting access in the country. The lawmakers also questioned whether the federal regulator has sufficient authority and resources to oversee prediction markets while continuing to argue that federal law preempts state regulation.
