The Chief Executive Officer of Kalshi, Tarek Mansour, has expressed his support for a legislative initiative aimed at banning federal officials from engaging in trades on prediction markets. This endorsement follows the introduction of the “Public Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act of 2026” by U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres from New York on January 5, 2026. The proposed bill aims to prevent federal elected officials, political appointees, and employees of the executive branch from leveraging non-public information to influence bets on government policies or political outcomes.
Mansour”s backing of the bill comes at a time when there is increasing scrutiny regarding unregulated and decentralized platforms, which have been associated with trades that appear suspiciously timed. In a post on LinkedIn dated January 7, 2026, Mansour clarified that while Kalshi supports the federal ban, it already enforces stringent insider trading regulations modeled after established exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq. By implementing these internal protocols, Kalshi aims to treat insider trading as a financial crime, reinforcing its commitment to market integrity.
The push for more robust federal oversight gained momentum following a significant incident involving Polymarket, a decentralized competitor to Kalshi. A trader on this platform reportedly earned over $400,000 by betting on the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro shortly before his capture. The timing of this trade raised serious concerns about the potential exploitation of confidential government intelligence for profit within the prediction market sector.
Mansour highlighted that, in contrast to unregulated offshore platforms, Kalshi operates as a federally regulated Designated Contract Market (DCM) under the auspices of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He argued that critics often mistakenly equate the actions of non-compliant platforms with those of regulated U.S. exchanges. By endorsing the Torres bill, Kalshi seeks to distinguish itself from the instability associated with offshore competitors and further solidify its reputation as a legitimate financial service provider.
This legislative initiative aligns with a broader shift in how prediction markets are perceived by major technology companies. On January 21, 2026, Google is set to revise its advertising policies to permit federally regulated prediction markets to run advertisements in the United States, officially designating these platforms as financial products rather than gambling entities. This classification is a significant milestone that Kalshi has vigorously pursued through various legal challenges.
The prediction market industry is currently experiencing rapid growth, despite facing regulatory scrutiny and recent controversies. In December 2025, Kalshi launched tokenized prediction contracts on the Solana blockchain, achieving an impressive valuation of $11 billion, while Polymarket”s trading volume reached $2.28 billion. The increasing integration of prediction market data into mainstream financial media, including outlets like CNBC and Dow Jones, underscores the pressing need for federal integrity standards. Such regulations are deemed essential for ensuring ongoing institutional adoption in the future.
