Nine European regulators warn Kalshi over World Cup partnerships

Nine European gambling regulators issued a joint statement on June 17 pledging coordinated action against unlicensed prediction markets during the World Cup. The announcement followed Kalshi’s sponsorship deal with the Argentine Football Association and a paid Instagram post on Lionel Messi’s account.

The regulators named in the statement are from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. They said they will share information across borders and pursue enforcement measures against platforms that do not hold the required local licences for the duration of the tournament.

Regulators listed specific concerns about prediction markets: round-the-clock access to contracts, the absence of preset stake or time limits on trading, and weak age and identity checks. The statement urged national sporting bodies, leagues and teams to confirm a platform’s legal status in each market where it will operate or advertise before signing partnerships.

Kalshi reached an agreement on June 10 to become an official World Cup sponsor of the Argentine Football Association, securing use of the national team’s crest and official match data through Genius Sports. The platform activated the deal with a paid post on Lionel Messi’s Instagram account on June 14 and has since added the Croatian Football Federation with Luka Modrić as an ambassador.

Trading in the prediction-market sector reached $8.6 billion in April, regulatory materials show. Kalshi has overtaken the crypto-native company Polymarket in market share. Both platforms have attracted investor funding at multibillion-dollar valuations.

Regulatory pressure in Europe has been building in recent weeks. Spain’s gambling regulator ordered internet service providers on May 26 to block Kalshi and Polymarket while it investigates whether their products constitute unlicensed gambling. France, the Netherlands and Portugal have taken comparable measures, and Germany’s gambling authority is reviewing advertising linked to prediction markets. Regulators described the June 17 declaration as a way to coordinate those national actions for the World Cup period.

Gibraltar-licensed ADI Predictstreet is listed as the officially licensed prediction-market partner of the World Cup. The regulators noted that a licence granted in one jurisdiction does not automatically provide legal authorisation in other countries and encouraged teams and federations to verify local permissions.

The joint statement concludes that the regulators will act against platforms operating without required local permissions during the tournament and will continue cross-border cooperation throughout the World Cup period.