Key Takeaways
- Kalshi has designated Sportradar as the official data and odds provider for MLB, NHL, MLS, and UFC events.
- Kalshi will receive two Sportradar integrity tools (UFDS AI and Integrity Exchange) to identify suspicious transactions.
- Currently, about 11 states have classified Kalshi's sports contracts as illegal gambling, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has expressed support for this.
Official data and integrity assurance
This agreement allows Kalshi to access official data and real-time odds for Major League Baseball (MLB), NHL, MLS, and UFC. Sportradar stated that this data will support market operations both before and during the event, while ensuring timely settlement. For Kalshi, official data sources mean it can process contracts faster and more accurately than when using unofficial data. In addition to data, the package also includes fan interaction content and customer acquisition marketing solutions aimed at high-value sports fans, which is exactly the commercial toolkit Sportradar sells to bookmakers. CEO Tarek Mansur stated that the platform will leverage alliance data to enable faster transaction settlement and a better customer experience.
Kalshi also received Sportradar's integrity assurance system: including a UFDS AI system for detecting suspicious betting behavior, as well as a secure network called the "Sportradar Integrity Exchange" for sharing information on manipulation threats. Mansoor positions this monitoring system as a measure to protect users, which is a key focus for an industry long plagued by insider trading suspicions.
Regulators in about a dozen states have taken action on prediction markets, and Senate Democrats have recently argued that event contracts are essentially unlicensed sports bettingAlthough the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) claims federal jurisdiction over such contracts. Sports event results are the main source of Kalshi's transaction fee income, so data and integrity issues are critical to its business. Through official data and integrity collaboration, Kalshi positions itself as a regulated, league-backed trading platform, rather than the unregulated gambling operator critics describe.
The agreement also allows Kalshi to access the same data backbone network provided by Sportradar—a network serving betting platforms like DraftKings and Flutter, as well as leagues like NHL and MLB. Sportradar, which had previously signaled entry into the forecast market months earlier, said the agreement is the first step and stated that it can now sign directly with Kalshi's brokers and market makers. The data sources underlying these prediction markets—the various sports leagues—also have internal disagreements: although the players' union alliances have requested the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to ban the highest-risk sports contract categories, the NHL and MLB have each signed their own prediction market agreements.
For Kalshi, founded in 2018 and now the leading platform in the U.S. prediction market, this collaboration is not just about data, but about credibility—as courts and state legislatures are deciding whether it qualifies as regulated financial infrastructure, this move aims to present its image as a regulated financial infrastructure.