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Kalshi spent $1.8 million on lobbying in the first half of 2026, up from $615,000 in all of 2025, according to The Intercept and Demand Progress. The two prediction market companies, Kalshi and Polymarket, are building ties with Democrats as Congress and regulators consider how to oversee the industry.
The Intercept describes the two firms as the dominant players in prediction markets. It says the industry has flourished under President Donald Trump because of his administration’s hands-off approach to regulation.
Democratic hires and donations
The Intercept reports that Kalshi has hired two former Biden White House officials since the start of the year. One is a policy adviser and the other is a top lobbyist. John Bivona, Kalshi’s head of government relations, is a former Democratic congressional staffer and Biden White House official.
Kalshi’s hires also include Stephanie Cutter. The Intercept says her work spanned the Obama and Biden administrations and Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
Kalshi’s co-founders have spent nearly $1 million on donations to federal candidates, The Intercept reports. More than a third of that, $377,000, went to Democrats.
Polymarket has hired a Republican former top official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a lobbyist, according to The Intercept. The outlet reports that Polymarket spent $180,000 on lobbying in the first half of 2026, compared with $360,000 in all of 2025.
Demand Progress says Kalshi has also hired former senior Republican floor staffer Tony Hanagan and former Democratic congressional staffer Jed Bhuta. It says Polymarket hired former Trump campaign adviser David Urban. The group says Donald Trump Jr. holds paid advisory roles with both companies.
Demand Progress also says the Coalition for Prediction Markets hired former Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney as president. Former Republican House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry is a senior adviser, the group says.
Kalshi’s response
Kalshi told The Intercept it is willing to work across the ideological spectrum. Bivona said in a statement: “Kalshi has had substantive conversations with policymakers over the past year regarding legislation that protects consumers, keeps minors off our platform, makes insider trading bans standard across the industry, and ensures the CFTC has the resources they need.”
He also told The Intercept: “We’ve come out in support of legislation introduced by members across the ideological spectrum, and we’ve worked with dozens of lawmakers from both parties on these priorities.”
Scrutiny in Washington
The Intercept reports that prediction markets face increased scrutiny over trading on elections. It also cites reports of suspicious trades from Washington tied to policy moves and military action. Democrats on Capitol Hill have called on Trump to bar White House staffers from using the sites. The CFTC is considering rulemaking that could expand its jurisdiction over prediction market contracts, according to The Intercept.
With Democrats taking Congress, observers expect investigations into prediction market use in Washington, the outlet reports. Rep. Maxine Waters wrote in a letter last week about her agenda if she chairs the House Financial Services Committee. The Intercept reported that she said she wants to “rein in predatory lending and predatory platforms, including prediction markets, so that our constituents keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets.”
Ella Fanger, a corporate power policy adviser at Demand Progress, told The Intercept: “They’ve been hopeful that they can have Democratic champions for their policy agenda.” She also said: “It’s important for states to be able to regulate this industry as gambling, which is what it is.”
In the group’s own release, Fanger said: “The government must reject this dangerous influence buying scheme and let prediction markets be treated as they really are: gambling websites that should not be able to evade sensible regulation.”
More from gamingtoday.com
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- Kalshi, Polymarket Giving Tops $5 Million Amid Gambling-Law Scrutiny
- Ohio Bills Would Treat Sports Predictions Like Gambling, Outlaw Election Bets
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Sources: As reported by The Intercept and demandprogress.org.
