Kalshi's World Cup Surge Adds Three Million New Traders

Kalshi reportedly added about three million users during the World Cup, as its tournament market attracted a record $1.2 billion in trading volume.

Charlotte Capewell

Last Updated: July 21, 2026 6:10 AM EDT • 2 minute read

Pictured: Spain's teammates celebrate as we look at the user surge at Kalshi during the World Cup. Photo by REUTERS/Ana Beltran

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Kalshi added roughly three million new users during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the prediction market operator confirmed to CNBC as the tournament wrapped up.

Trading activity on the platform climbed right alongside the growth in users, and the contract tied to picking the eventual champion pulled in more than $1.2 billion, the largest total ever recorded for a single market on the site. That contract wrapped up once Spain edged past Argentina 1-0 in Sunday's final.

A marketing professor at Northwestern University pointed to soccer's near-universal following as the reason the sport gave Kalshi such a wide pool of potential customers, noting that few other events reach that many countries at once.

Behind the growth was a string of tie-ins: a co-branding arrangement with ADI Predictstreet that put Kalshi's name inside World Cup stadiums, a deal with OpenAI that let its odds show up in ChatGPT results, and endorsement campaigns built around soccer figures Luka Modric and Jose Mourinho, along with a tie to Argentina's team. CEO Tarek Mansour framed the approach as one built around timing and staying relevant rather than chasing volume for its own sake.

“Our volumes are where the news is at,” said Mansour. “It’s a lot of the approach for the World Cup. … The most important thing is enable creativity based on what’s happening.”

None of this erases the legal uncertainty hanging over prediction market apps. Sports contracts like these remain at the center of a fight between federal regulators and several states that consider them a form of sports betting, a dispute that has already produced a Commodity Futures Trading Commission suit against Kentucky.

Prediction markets widen their lead over sportsbooks

Kalshi's numbers reflect a much larger shift across the entire industry. Combined activity across Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood's new venture, Rothera, hit a new record for June, just as the World Cup got underway.

Kalshi alone processed $31 billion in trading volume last month, up more than 70% from May, with sports contracts accounting for around 85% of that total, and World Cup wagers specifically reaching $22.4 billion. Polymarket's international exchange logged $10.8 billion for the month, also a record, while its separate US-regulated app brought in $3.5 billion. Rothera, barely a month old, handled $2 billion and already claimed 7% of the domestic prediction market.

By comparison, analysts had expected US sportsbooks to take in somewhere between $2.8 billion and $4.3 billion across all 104 matches. App tracking firm Apptopia found Kalshi's daily active users climbed 36% above mid-June levels.

DraftKings, FanDuel, and other traditional best sports betting sites saw usage decline over the same stretch, a sign that bettors were migrating toward the newer platforms rather than simply sampling them.

Written by:
Charlotte Capewell

Charlotte’s love for all things iGaming shines through in everything she writes. From sports betting and U.S. legislation to prediction markets and beyond, she blends sharp analysis with storytelling that makes even the most technical topics come alive. Always chasing the next big scoop, Charlotte keeps a close eye on industry news, eager to share her excitement and insights with readers, whether they’re industry veterans or newcomers discovering iGaming for the first time. When she’s not deep in gaming headlines, you’ll probably find her glued to the F1, cheering on her favorite team, Williams, and driver. Her dream? To be trackside at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, notebook in hand, of course.