What will JD Vance say during his press conference to combat fraud? Options: Biden, economy, economic, middle class. This is an example of a bet on Kalshi, Americas #1 prediction market platform. On Kalshi, users bet on the outcome of a variety of events by buying and selling “future contracts.” When Kalshi was launched in 2021, it excluded sports and focused on politics, cultural events, and more. However, Kalshi recently added a program that allowed users to make wagers on sports, majorly expanding the app’s capabilities. This made the app mainstream, controversial, and a loophole to sports betting where it is illegal, like Texas and California. Kalshi claims there is a difference between trading contracts and gambling, which exempts the app from being 21+ and allows it to be legal to any adult in every state.
As its popularity grew, the sports betting platform reached Garfield. The spread of the Kalshi app within Garfield has been exponential, making an impact across grades. “If you invite your friend, you can get $25 of credit. So, I signed up. Usually, it asks for proof of ID, but for some reason it did not ask me. So, I just lied about my age and got in with no problem,” an anonymous sophomore said. This was a common theme seen while signing up for Kalshi. Either it glitched, it never asked, or some other error occurred, leading to a notable number of underage users weaseling their way onto the app. It is also common for students who are not on the app to make bets through friends who do. The sophomore made a $70 profit after making daily single bets. He was four weeks into using the app until he realized his gains were disproportionate to his losses and the app had become addictive. Even after his decision to delete the app, he added that he would definitely redownload it when he turns eighteen.
Buy-ins on the app are made simple, which makes the thrill of betting easier to chase. “If you watch a sports game with no money, that is fine. But if you have even $5 on it, it makes it way more exciting,” Reuben Gross-Keck, a Garfield senior, said. With just $10, Gross-Keck has made a profit of around $600 in the span of 2 months. His goal is to make $10,000 betting on football, soccer, and UFC. Gross-Keck recalled how his biggest loss was during the Superbowl. Along with many of his friends, he bet on Travis Scott performing as the surprise guest at the Superbowl. It was a bad day for everyone, with some having losses of up to $4000.
Kalshi has spread through Garfield, allowing for students to habitually gamble with their money. “I’d say, I know I’m doing it, betting on Kalshi, but it’s like a really corrupt website, and it exploits people,” Gross-Keck said. “I’m just saying, forewarning to people, they shouldn’t give their money to Kalshi.”
