Polymarket, Kalshi Founders Address Joint Panel About Future Of Prediction Markets

By Bill Speros Sep 29th, 2025 3:59 PM EDT

The founders of Kalshi and Polymarket joined forces Monday. Polymarket’s Shayne Coplan and Kalshi’s Tarek Mansour spoke during a joint federal regulatory hearing. The hearing. hosted by the SEC and CFTC. dealt with – in part - how prediction markets and event contracts should be regulated.

In a joint statement issued by the SEC and CTFC ahead of Monday’s discussion, the agencies said prediction markets are Prediction markets “are undergoing rapid growth with growing demand from both market operators and the public.”

The agencies should “provide clarity for innovators that want to list event contracts on prediction markets responsibly.” And “collaborate to consider where event contracts may be made available to U.S. market participants regardless of where the jurisdictional lines fall.”

However, neither founder directly addressed the challenges surrounding so-called sports event contracts.

Kalshi remains embroiled in litigation across multiple jurisdictions. The platform’s entry into the sports event market triggered the legal manuvers. A recent analysis of Kalshi’s numbers say the platform received 70% of its trading volume from sporting event contracts.

Appearance Signifies Change In Landscape

Both Copland and Mansour alluded to their presence at the roundtable as a milestone in terms of how far their platforms have progressed in recent years. Once the subject of potential criminal actions, Kalshi and Polymarket's founders were featured as representatives of the future of American finance.

"It's refreshing to see how far we've come in terms of regulators willing to have us here," Mansour said.

"I was worried when I showed up there they were going to whisk me away to another room," Copland added.

The main issue of contention betweek Kalshi and Polymarket, and some of the more established traders, came during a discussion of regulatory timetables. Terrence Duffy of CME Group, which recently partnered with FanDuel to offer non-sports-related-trading contracts, said he's wants a "level playing field" for everyone. He noted the differences between operators regulators governed by the SEC vs. those governed by the CTFC.

Copland countered by saying that the industry is in a "fork in the road" and that emerging platforms need a streamlined process because their products can be offered overseas immediately.

Duffy chuckled when Copland inadvertently referred "older" participants. Duffy, 67, said he's been trading for 44 years. Copland, meanwhile, is 27.

Duffy also playfully jabbed at Kalshi over its "trading fees" when discussing his football trades from this past weekend.

That remark did not go unnoticed.

Kalshi Embattled In Court Across Several States

Most recently, the Massachusetts Attorney General sued Kalshi. It claiming the site operates as an unlicensed sports book within the Commonwealth. Among the allegations made by the Massachusetts AG:

• Kalshi’s sports contracts function as illegal sports wagers
• These trades, or “wagers,” lack the consumer protection that comes with legal and regulated books
• The trading platform does not adhere to advertising regulations that apply to sports books
• Kalshi lacks state licensure

In addition to countering the AG’s claims, Kalshi sued to have the case remanded to federal court. It claims the platform falls under CTFC jurisdiction, and thus not subject to state oversight.

The Mass AG responded to Kalshi’s request in federal court, reasserting its jurisdiction in the case. The matter remains pending.

Kalshi received cease-and-desist orders from Arizona, Illinois, Montana, and Ohio. It has ongoing litigation against New Jersey in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. And it remains entangled in litigation with regulators in Maryland and Nevada. 

"Kalshi offers its users a fair, transparent, federally-regulated, and nationwide marketplace. Rather than engage in dialogue with Kalshi as many other states have done, Massachusetts is trying to block Kalshi’s innovations by relying on outdated laws and ideas," a Kalshi spokesperson told bookies.com.

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