Kalshi Reveals New Features to Prevent Children from Using the Platform

Speaking at the Semafor World Economy conference in Washington, DC, earlier this week, Tarek Mansour – co-founder and CEO of the prediction market firm Kalshi – said the company is introducing new measures to prevent minors from accessing its platform. Parents will have the ability to verify whether their personal information is being used by someone else to gain access to the trading service.

Kalshi’s CEO Announces New Parent Portal

Mansour said the company is launching a portal that allows parents to submit their identification, even if they are not Kalshi users, to check whether it is being used by someone else. This will enable them to determine if their children are using their ID and take appropriate action. He added that Kalshi is also introducing a selfie requirement during account registration, with each submitted image reviewed by AI to verify the identity of the person signing up.

Mansour added that Kalshi plans to introduce a feature allowing friends and family members to monitor one another’s betting activity. He said the company is developing a concept of “family accounts,” where users can track each other’s behavior on the platform.

The CEO explained that the goal is to create a sense of accountability among close circles, enabling people to flag potentially excessive activity. According to Mansour, the intention is for the platform to be used responsibly rather than to encourage overuse.

Speaking of limiting young people’s access to gambling and other similar products, New York is implementing new features, including biometric verification, that aim to confirm if bettors are of legal betting age before setting up accounts and placing wagers.

But Who Regulates Kalshi Itself?

Prediction markets are regulated at the federal level by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and users must be at least 18 years old to participate. Unlike sportsbooks, which are subject to stricter state gaming regulations that require extensive safeguards and identity verification measures, prediction markets generally operate under more flexible onboarding requirements.

The CFTC does require prediction markets to follow know-your-customer (KYC) rules. However, David Miller, the agency’s director of enforcement, said last month that enforcement efforts are not focused on prioritizing technical violations, but rather on those who willfully decide to break those rules.

As such, Kalshi and other prediction markets regulated by the CFTC carry significant regulatory obligations. This includes verifying the identities of their users and helping ensure that their platforms are not exploited for insider trading.

However, the nature of this arrangement has often clashed with the viewpoints of many state regulators, who most often say that Kalshi, and other prediction market providers, should be regulated by them, rather than the CFTC. Montana is one of the latest states to want Kalshi to stop its products in the state, leading to a lawsuit – one of many that Kalshi is currently embroiled in.