KALSHI TO REQUIRE JOB DETAILS FROM USERS TO COMBAT INSIDER TRADING

Prediction market operator Kalshi has announced it will require certain users to disclose their employer before placing bets on markets deemed at heightened risk of insider trading or manipulation. The new policy targets trades that could benefit from privileged information, such as bets on whether OpenAI or Anthropic will become the first to go public. Kalshi said it will use the disclosed employment data to identify and screen out presumptive insiders before any trade is placed. The platform allows users to bet against one another on elections, sporting events, and cultural events.

The announcement follows a series of insider trading cases linked to prediction markets. Former Congressman George Santos is under investigation for alleged insider trading on Kalshi. Earlier this year, Kalshi identified congressional candidates from Minnesota, Texas, and Virginia who had placed bets on their own races. In the first quarter of this year, Kalshi made more than 20 referrals to law enforcement following more than 150 internal investigations into potentially illegal trading activity. Separately, a Google employee was charged with insider trading for using company information to place bets on rival platform Polymarket, and a US special forces soldier allegedly made successful bets on Kalshi relating to a removal operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a charge to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Kalshi has also developed a new risk-scoring method to flag betting markets more susceptible to manipulation, covering areas including specific companies and national security matters. The measures reflect broader concern about insider trading as prediction markets grow in popularity. Kalshi has not confirmed a specific date on which the employment disclosure requirement will come into force.