Kalshi Scores FIFA World Cup Spotlight as Prediction Market Trading Surges to Record

The world’s most anticipated sporting event continues to raise the profile of prediction markets, with a record amount of outstanding bets punctuated on Friday by a high-profile deal 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 that it would collaborate with Kalshi heading into the competition’s knockout stage, with both brands expected to be shown across stadiums, TV, and advertisements online.

In a blog post published by Andreessen Horowitz—an investor in Kalshi and Robinhood—the venture capital giant noted that weekly trading volumes across prediction markets reached $14.5 billion for the first time last week. Meanwhile, the value of outstanding bets hit a record for the third straight week at $1.6 billion.

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

The two prediction market platforms have meanwhile bolstered their respective marketing approaches through advertisements displayed during broadcasts, including a Polymarket ad that features American rapper Future and others from Kalshi showcasing athletes such as Croatia’s Luka Modrić. 

And there was no shortage of other companies eager to get in on the action. 

DraftKings said in a press release on Friday that it was launching its own prediction market, DKeX. The company noted that its DraftKings Predictions product is expected to grow throughout next month, citing heightened interest surrounding the World Cup.

As more teams face off, some nascent prediction markets are also seeing massive growth. Rothera, an exchange that Robinhood began routing wagers to in late May, has seen weekly trading volumes explode to $805 million from $2.1 million, according to Artemis.

Not long ago, analysts at asset manager Bernstein wagered that the World Cup could be a “watershed moment” for the prediction market sector, noting that Robinhood and Coinbase are using the tournament to accelerate growth for their respective offerings.