
Among the many categories of markets tradable on Kalshi are sports markets. Under this category, you can trade on more than 20 sports, including popular ones like basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and volleyball.
To help you understand how Kalshi sports contracts trading works, we’ve put together this guide. We start by explaining what you generally can trade on the platform, then we narrow down to how the sports prediction section works, and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the sports market and its availability in the US.
Before we go into details on what Kalshi’s sports prediction market is all about, it’ll help to first understand what Kalshi has to offer. To start with, Kalshi is a prediction market exchange where you can buy and sell contracts that are linked to real-life events. On Kalshi, you can trade event contracts from categories including:
Since we’re more interested in the sports prediction market, it’ll interest you to know that Kalshi offers trading on more than 20 sports. At the time of this writing, here are the sports contracts you could trade on Kalshi.
| Football | Tennis | Baseball | Soccer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basketball | Golf | MMA | Esports |
| Russia Liga Pro | Cricket | Motorsport | Hockey |
| Boxing | Lacrosse | Rugby | Chess |
| City Titles | Darts | NCAA Volleyball | Others |
The way it works on Kalshi is such that you have to trade contracts based on whether a specific sports outcome will happen or not. Think about it this way: imagine that there’s a basketball match “BOS Celtics vs DET Pistons”. If your prediction is that BOS Celtics will win, what you have to do is buy a “Yes” contract. But if you think BOS Celtics will lose, you can buy “No” contracts.
The side that is correct settles at $1 per contract, while the incorrect side settles at $0. When you open a Kalshi sports market, you may see a Yes contract that is priced at 60¢, while the No contract may be priced at 40¢; what this means is that the market probability of the event happening is roughly 60% while the probability of it not happening is 40%.
What determines the probability you see on the platform is what traders think will happen. If more traders choose the Yes contract, there’s obviously going to be more percentage/price given to the Yes contract. On the Kalshi sports prediction market, you have the option to accept an available price or place a limit order on what you are willing to pay, but keep in mind that a limit order will remain unfilled if there’s no one to match the trade.
One interesting thing about Kalshi sports prediction market is that it’s possible to sell contracts before the event ends. So with the example above, if you buy a BOS Celtics Yes contract at 60¢ and it goes as high as 80¢, you can choose to sell and lock in some profit even before the event ends. The same applies to selling when you observe that the event isn’t going the way you want it to. Just keep in mind that selling below the price you bought will mean losing some money. This explanation won’t be complete if we don’t mention that Kalshi charges a small fee for providing you with a platform and matching offers.
Everything we’ve just explained, the same idea applies to Kalshi election markets as well as other market categories.
Kalshi, as a prediction market platform, operates in 40 US states, and its operation is overseen by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Before you can trade Kalshi event contracts, you need to be at least 18 years of age, and that has to be verified using your government-approved ID.
Before you begin trading Kalshi sports contracts, there are a few things you need to understand. You need to understand how Kalshi pays out sports contracts, and how they charge fees. Below are more details.
Yes, Kalshi charges a small trading fee when you buy or sell Kalshi sports event contracts. The fee you pay depends on the market, contract price, and the number of contracts you’re trading. Before you place a trade, Kalshi will allow you to see the fee. You’ll see the fee added to the total cost of the contract you’re trading.
Usually, the sports contract will pay out when the game ends, and your account will be automatically credited. The time it takes for a sports contract to settle depends on how long the event will last. You can also choose to sell your contract before the event ends. Let’s say you buy 100 contracts at 50¢ and you sell them at 65¢; that gives you a profit of $15 before fees.
Yes, you can trade sports contracts on the Kalshi app. This applies to the Android and iOS app. You can practically do everything possible on the website directly from the app. As a matter of fact, many players prefer using the mobile app to trade sports contracts as opposed to trading directly from the website.
Before you can trade sports contracts on Kalshi, you essentially need to have an account with Kalshi. Here’s how you can get started.
Start by clicking any of our Kalshi on-page banners to go straight to the platform
On the registration page, you’ll be required to select one of the registration options. There are options to register using your email address, Google account, or Apple account.
Next, input your phone number and verify with the code sent to your phone.
Before you’re given access to your account, you’ll need to verify your age using your government-approved ID.
Once you have access, you can proceed to your payment page, make a deposit, and start trading sports event contracts.
It’s as simple as that. Just at the top of the platform’s homepage, you’ll see a list of the contract categories that are tradable. Among them are sports contracts; click on it to reveal the sports available, as well as events and contracts.
From what has been explained so far, here are the advantages and disadvantages we’ve observed about the Kalshi sports prediction market.
There’s no doubt sports prediction markets may require some sports knowledge alongside prediction market trading knowledge. We’ve already explained how you can buy and sell sports contracts on Kalshi, so it’s worth trying out. Only ensure that you understand the sports you’re interested in trading.
To get started, you can click any of our Kalshi on-page banners, register an account, make a deposit, and you can start trading sports event contracts on the platform. As you trade, don’t forget Kalshi fees. So ensure you factor that in the price of each contract when trading.
Yes, Kalshi offers trading on sports prediction markets. On Kalshi, you can trade event contracts from more than 20 sports, including sports like basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and tennis.
Yes, Kalshi charges a small fee when you trade sports contracts. However, you pay a lower fee when you’re a market maker, as opposed to when you’re a market taker.
Yes, you can sell sports contracts before the event ends. The time and price you’re selling determines if you make a profit or lose. If you sell at a higher price, you make a profit.
When you sell a sports contract on Kalshi at a lower price, you lose money. But the good part is that you won’t be losing everything, as you would if the event does not end in your favor.
Yes, it is cheaper to be a market maker than a taker. Market makers tend to pay lower fees compared to market takers. Just note that if you’re a market maker, your order might remain unfulfilled if nobody accepts it.