Kalshi notified the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) it is adding anti-harassment terms to its rulebook that give it latitude to punish bettors who lash out at athletes on social media. User sanctions imposed by the prediction market operator could include financial penalties.
The company is also announcing a partnership with Signify Group and IC360 to identify people who send abusive messages to athletes related to their Kalshi activity.
The moves come amid simmering frustrations from coaches and players over how sports betting sometimes leads fans to act inappropriately, concerns that have recently expanded beyond state-regulated traditional sportsbooks to also encompass newer CFTC-regulated prediction markets.
After Kalshi unveiled its sponsorship of the U.S. Open this summer, American women’s tennis star Jessica Pegula responded to the deal with a critical comment that received global attention.
“Players can’t do anything off of a betting type of sponsorship, but the tournaments profit,” Pegula said to reporters. “We get a lot of negativity from … bettors. We get a lot of hate on social media, so it’s tough when you see that, and then [those companies] are a big sponsor behind the court.”
Kalshi’s CFTC filing, dated Oct. 13, codifies athlete harassment as an “impermissible activity.”
“No person shall intentionally or recklessly engage in conduct reasonably likely to cause emotional distress to a third-party in connection with trading activity,” Kalshi’s rule states. “This includes, but is not limited to, any conduct or attempted conduct reasonably likely to bully, frighten, threaten, scare, coerce, harass, or intimidate any third party in connection with trading activity.”
Violations of Kalshi’s rule may prompt account deactivation, referral to police and, the company writes in its CFTC filing, “financial penalties” assessed by the exchange. A Kalshi official told Sportico the latter policy could include a flat fine for behavior deemed problematic, regardless of how much a person wagered.
Meanwhile, the commercial arrangement with Signify Group and IC360—called the “Bad Actor Program”—is meant to spot social media posts that run afoul of Kalshi’s harassment policies and find any overlap with Kalshi accounts. Financial details were not disclosed. DraftKings joined the program last month, while Fanatics did so in June.
“The initiative is focused on abusive, threatening and potentially criminal behavior, rather than legitimate criticism or discussion of sports performance,” Kalshi said in a statement.
Signify Group is based in the U.K. but is increasingly partnering with global sports properties.
For IC360, the agreement adds another prong to a business set up to capitalize on concerns about the effects of sports betting.
As Sportico first reported this year, IC360 partnered with Kalshi and other prediction market companies on a nationwide self-exclusion program.
IC360 also runs one of the most prominent betting integrity technology stacks, working with traditional sportsbooks and prediction markets alike to try to identify illegal wagers, including ones placed by players or made with inside knowledge. Its tech helped investigators find that former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter manipulated his play on behalf of bettors. The NBA banned Porter for life.
In recent weeks, major U.S. sports leagues have acknowledged behavioral concerns arising from sports betting—both in terms of addiction risks for users and the potential for athlete abuse—through a letter to state regulators asking for abusive bettors to receive permanent bans and via planned PSAs that will run in the coming months.
On Tuesday, the NBA and WNBA launched a campaign in partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling to “educate fans, particularly young adults, about the risks associated with sports betting and prediction markets.” The campaign will include social media and TV advertisements.