Kalshi has removed all sports-mention markets (contracts on whether a broadcaster says a particular word), as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reviews whether the category invites manipulation, NPR reported based on anonymous sources. Mention markets on Trump, corporate earnings calls, and news broadcasts remain live on the platform even as a Washington court has just banned the category outright.
Key Takeaways
Kalshi removed all sports mention markets as the CFTC reviews them, NPR reports.Trump markets are 82% of the $1.16M in visible volume still listed on Kalshi.Washington bans the whole mentions category, with geofencing due by Sept. 2.Per the Commodity Exchange Act, designated contract markets may list only contracts that are not readily susceptible to manipulation, and one of NPR’s sources said mention markets are “potentially very easy to manipulate, so the CFTC is taking a hard look at whether some of them make sense.” A second source and a former Kalshi employee told the outlet that the exchange’s own lawyers share that concern, since the nature of some markets attracts people positioned to move the outcome. Inside Kalshi, staff members have debated the category’s usefulness, with co-founder Luana Lopes Lara championing it, according to the former employee.
As of Friday, our review showed that Kalshi’s Mentions section offers no sports filter at all: the only subcategories are earnings, politicians, Trump and a public companies hub. At least 216 individual contracts remain across 12 market groups: earnings-call mentions for Klarna, Walmart, Target, Home Depot, John Deere, Toll Brothers, Futu and Amer Sports are all scheduled to open next week, alongside a NASA press conference and a Massachusetts Senate debate. Polymarket also offers mention markets, but only on its overseas platform, which the CFTC does not regulate. Its smaller US exchange does not currently list them.
