Money

Kalshi Caps Deposits for Traders Under 21 at $2,500

Should 18-year-olds be free to trade prediction markets with safeguards or should the betting age be raised to 21?

2 hours ago·Updated 1 hour ago

Kalshi Caps Deposits for Traders Under 21 at $2,500

Story

Above: A person looking at the Kalshi app in Lafayette, Calif., on Aug. 31. Image credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The Facts

Prediction market company Kalshi said Tuesday that traders aged 18 to 20 on its platform will face a $2,500 monthly deposit limit and be automatically placed into special accounts with added protections and responsible trading education.
Reuters
Quartz
The Hill
The platform will also display an alert when a new trader with a balance above $1,000 places more than 25% of those funds into a single trade, encouraging diversification, part of changes announced ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
Quartz
Legal Sports Report
Kalshi announced partnerships with Parent ProTech and ConnectSafely to publish Parents' Guides to Prediction Markets, which the company said will help parents encourage responsible trading habits and keep minors off the platform.
Quartz
Kalshi
CEO Tarek Mansour told Bloomberg the company is weighing additional measures for customers who lose money and would welcome regulators setting 21 as the minimum trading age. Most online sportsbooks require customers to be older than 21.
Legal Sports Report
Quartz
Bloomberg
A bipartisan bill from Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., would ban digital gambling ads targeting minors on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Blumenthal introduced a separate measure in March on prediction market fraud.
Quartz
The Hill
Kalshi invested $2 million in the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and offers trading breaks, self-set limits, self-exclusion and mental health support via Birches Health. Ohio, Michigan and Nevada groups withdrew from the NCPG over the summer.
Kalshi
Legal Sports Report

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The Spin

Pro-industry narrative

This is yet another example of Kalshi's maturity as a federally regulated exchange with deposit caps, trade alerts and self-exclusion tools to protect its youngest traders, a far better system than a patchwork of state bans. Banning prediction markets would only drive young traders to offshore sites that offer no safeguards, no age checks and no accountability. Anyone old enough to vote, enlist and buy stocks should be allowed to enjoy this app responsibly.

Reason Magazine

Kalshi

Industry-critical narrative

Brains between 18 and 21 are wired for thrills and poor at judging risk, which is why nearly every state blocks gambling until 21. It's hard to believe a $2,500 cap will help as young customers already spend about that much on a routine basis, totaling a combined billions of dollars, resulting in depression, anxiety, financial issues and suicide. Real protection means an age floor of at least 21, strict advertising limits and an end to products engineered for compulsion.

Times Union