Kalshi disputes Wisconsin ban on election betting

Prediction‑market firm Kalshi, valued at several billion dollars, has publicly attacked a Wisconsin law that prohibits voters from placing bets on elections in which they cast a ballot. The state’s advisory, rooted in an 1849 statute, warns that such wagering could invalidate a ballot or lead to criminal referral. Kalshi described the rule as "bananas," "illegal" and a form of voter suppression, arguing that the restriction hampers free political discourse.

The controversy reflects a wider clash across roughly half of the United States, where states are suing Kalshi and similar platforms over whether prediction markets should be regulated as gambling or overseen by the federal government. An accompanying discussion on an Illinois news site raised a poll asking whether Illinois residents should be allowed to bet on their own state elections, underscoring the national relevance of the issue.