Most Americans Say No to Betting on Elections

Most Americans do not want betting on elections. A new poll shows sixty percent oppose it. The opposition crosses party lines. Sixty-nine percent of Democrats and sixty-one percent of Republicans say no. Three-quarters of people call it gambling. Only seven percent have ever used a prediction market.

Big news outlets are adding betting odds anyway. CBS News will show Kalshi prices during midterm coverage. CNN and CNBC have similar deals. Kalshi also gets vote counts from the Associated Press. CBS and CNN now share the same owner, Skydance.

The markets are dominated by a tiny group of traders. On Polymarket, the top one percent of wallets make sixty-eight percent of trades. Eighty percent of congressional markets have fewer than one hundred active wallets. Sports betting drives way more volume. Combined trading on Kalshi and Polymarket doubled from twenty-six billion to fifty-three billion in just two months. Sports caused most of that jump.

Kalshi says the poll is biased. A spokesperson claims the questions were leading. The survey described prediction markets as wagering on real-world events. It asked about elections, military actions, and government decisions separately. A March poll found only twenty-one percent of Americans know much about prediction markets. Kalshi wants research that measures familiarity and uses neutral wording.

Traders sued Kalshi earlier this year over a market on Iran's leader. The market concerned whether Ali Khamenei would leave office. Kalshi said its rules excluded death-related outcomes. The company reimbursed trading fees and net losses.