· Donald Trump Jr. has joined prediction-market startup Kalshi as a strategic advisor. That could give the U.S.-based company an advantage in navigating regulation and in competing with offshore rival Polymarket.
Kalshi, a prediction-market startup that captured people’s attention during the 2024 election, is adding Donald Trump Jr. to its roster as a strategic advisor.
Trump Jr. will work with the company on finding new partnerships and expanding its audience, Kalshi’s co-founder told The Wall Street Journal. The company is in the midst of what it terms an aggressive expansion.
Kalshi bettors put Trump’s odds of election at 55% on the day before the election, which raised the profile of prediction markets, something Trump Jr. pointed to in a statement.
“After using Kalshi on election night to track our victory in real time…it was obvious that prediction markets were going to upend mainstream media,” Trump Jr. said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be joining them.”
While Kalshi has already cleared one hurdle in getting approval for election betting last fall, it still faces several regulatory hurdles—and having Trump Jr. as an advisor could be a tremendous help in navigating those. It could also help the company’s fight against rival Polymarket, which is not based in the U.S.
For example, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is still in the process of appealing the ruling that allowed prediction markets to offer bets on the election. If it wins that case, it will be up to Trump to enforce it.
Current bets on the site range from the number of immigrants Trump Sr. will deport in the first year of his administration and whether Trump will buy “at least part” of Greenland. It also has offered bets on the fate of Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
