Prediction markets platform Kalshi launches lobbying organization featuring ex-Trump aide
"Entrenched interests protecting their monopolies won't outspend or out-organize us," stated John Bivona, who serves as Kalshi's head of government relations.
The prediction markets platform Kalshi has provided support for a newly formed lobbying organization called Americans for Fair Markets, which has brought on Taylor Budowich, a former deputy White House chief of staff, to serve in the role of strategic advisor.
On Friday, Kalshi announced that the newly formed organization is taking aim at sportsbooks and casinos, entities it accuses of being "focused on protecting their monopolies and seeding lies about prediction markets to policymakers."
The Americans for Fair Markets organization, which received its launch support from Kalshi according to the company's statement, would become part of a more extensive lobbying effort that encompasses the Coalition for Prediction Markets, an advocacy organization for prediction markets that was established in December 2025, with financial backing from Coinbase, Crypto.com, and Robinhood.
According to Kalshi's announcement, the organization's primary objective is to influence federal policy concerning prediction markets and would execute paid advertising campaigns targeting what it characterized as "false narratives about prediction markets."
The organization's launch coincided with the same day that the US House initiated an investigation into Kalshi and its primary competitor, Polymarket, examining the manner in which these companies were managing insider trading concerns, as prediction markets face heightened scrutiny both in the US and internationally.
The selection of Budowich as an advisor occurs at a time when US President Donald Trump has articulated contradictory positions regarding prediction markets. Last month, Trump publicly stated that he was "not happy" with prediction markets following suspiciously timed bets related to potential Iran war scenarios.
Nevertheless, Trump, whose son Donald Trump Jr. has made an investment in Polymarket and accepted a position on the company's advisory board while also serving as an adviser to Kalshi, moderated his position several days afterward, warning that the US would "get left out in the cold" if it failed to permit the platforms to operate.
According to Kalshi's statement, Americans for Fair Markets will provide support to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in its efforts to regulate prediction markets.
The CFTC and state-level regulators have engaged in disputes over competing jurisdictional claims, with state authorities asserting that prediction markets are in violation of local gambling laws, while the CFTC has asserted that it possesses sole jurisdiction over these platforms.
According to its mission statement, Americans for Fair Markets would additionally concentrate its efforts on supporting federally regulated platforms that incorporate consumer protections including know-your-customer requirements, insider trading bans and restrictions on markets tied to violence or terrorism.
"We're not going to be outspent or out-organized by entrenched interests protecting their monopolies,"
John Bivona, Kalshi's head of government relations who was appointed as a board member for the new lobby group
"Millions of Americans have shown they want regulated, open, and fair prediction markets — and we're going to make sure they have access to them," he added.