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Kalshi users ages 18 to 21 traded an estimated $5.4 billion, including roughly $3.9 billion on sports and parlay-style contracts.
WKYC reported the figures, citing estimates reported by Fortune.
Prediction Markets Open Access at 18
Most U.S. states require sports bettors to be at least 21. Kalshi allows users from age 18. It operates as a financial exchange regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than a state-licensed sportsbook.
The activity has drawn warnings about gambling-related harm among young adults. Kalshi has added protections, including a $2,500 monthly deposit limit for users ages 18 to 20.
Critics, tribal groups and dozens of state attorneys general argue that Kalshi amounts to unlicensed sports gambling.
Dr. Scott Hadland of Mass General Brigham warned that legal classifications do not change the risks to developing brains. Brain development continues through adolescence and young adulthood, until at least age 25, according to WKYC.
“This has become really normalized,” Hadland said of gambling among his young patients.
He described young men exhausting their savings and accumulating debt. In some cases, families depleted savings or retirement accounts to help them.
Survey Highlights Youth Gambling Risks
A Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies survey found nearly 43% of teens ages 13 to 17 gambled during the past year. About 11% of teens who gambled were classified as high-risk problem gamblers.
About 40% of young people who used prediction markets were in the high-risk group. Young people who gambled with a family member were more than four times as likely to be high-risk gamblers.
Kalshi Adds Younger-User Safeguards
Alongside its deposit limit, Kalshi has added restricted accounts with responsible trading prompts and educational resources. Its protections also include Face ID by default.
The company encourages parents to enable two-factor authentication to keep minors off adult accounts. It also partnered with online safety groups, including ConnectSafely, on a Parent’s Guide to Kalshi and Prediction Markets.
More from gamingtoday.com
– DraftKings, FanDuel Pull Sports Prediction Markets From Utah After Kalshi Charges
– Supreme Court Review Of Prediction Markets May Not Come Until 2027
– Utah Charges Kalshi and Co-Founders as CFTC Challenges State Ban
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Source: As reported by wkyc.com.
