Kalshi is backing a new advocacy group to defend prediction markets in Washington, as the industry tries to keep its fast-growing event contracts under federal market rules.
The group, Americans for Fair Markets, said in a blog post today, May 22, that it will push for federal policy around prediction markets and federally regulated exchanges. Kalshi added that the group will take on the sportsbook and casino interests that are "focused on protecting their monopolies and seeding lies about prediction markets to policymakers."
Americans for Fair Markets said it will support onshore, federally regulated exchanges, stronger CFTC funding and bans on insider trading. It also said it wants:
- full CFTC funding;
- bans on insider trading and on markets tied to war;
- death;
- terrorism and assassination
The group also named Taylor Budowich, a former deputy White House chief of staff under Susie Wiles, as a strategic adviser.
Kalshi said prediction markets are now a roughly $500 billion asset class and that its annualized volume has grown 32 times over the past year, though those figures come from Kalshi's announcement and can't be independently verified.
The launch comes as Congress is already looking at the sector. Senators Dave McCormick and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Prediction Market Act of 2026 in April, describing it as a federal framework for prediction markets with transparency, market integrity rules and protections for retail users.
A summary of the bill says it would place event contracts under CFTC oversight, ban elected officials from trading on prediction markets, and add rules around insider trading, manipulation and customer protections.