TL;DR:
- S&P Dow Jones Indices designated Kalshi as the preferred venue for contracts tied to its benchmarks and will use its data to build new indices.
- The platform has accumulated over $329.5 billion in trading volume so far this year, according to records from The Block.
- Several U.S. states, including New York, Connecticut, and Utah, maintain active litigation against the firm under state gambling laws.
A new alliance was confirmed this Tuesday between Kalshi and S&P Dow Jones Indices. The partnership is set to structure event-based indices, linking official stock market benchmarks with direct prediction contracts.
The agreement, officially announced on Monday, October 26, grants Kalshi a license as the preferred platform to list event contracts settling against official reference values managed by S&P Dow Jones Indices. In return, the global index provider will use Kalshi’s trading records as a preferred source to develop new indicators across sectors including politics, economics, and sporting events.
The initiative aims to integrate institutional financial metrics into retail operating models. In this regard, Kalshi co-founder and CEO Tarek Mansour stated that the company’s ambition is to position itself as a large-scale financial exchange infrastructure, adopting corporate standards to meet institutional demand.
S&P Dow Jones Indices and Kalshi are joining forces to build the next generation of financial markets.
The Dow launched in 1896. The S&P 500 in 1957. The idea was simple: bring individual stocks together into a single benchmark, giving people a clearer view of the broader… pic.twitter.com/eZXu68y6RL
— Tarek Mansour (@mansourtarek_) October 27, 2026
For her part, S&P Dow Jones Indices CEO Cathy Clay noted that the integration expands the benchmark business into one of the fastest-accelerating segments in today’s financial sector. Nevertheless, the disclosed contractual terms clarify that the S&P-linked instruments are neither sponsored nor directly endorsed by the index firm, which disclaims liability for any disruptions or discrepancies in the published values.
Operational growth and judicial scrutiny in the United States
The commercial partnership coincides with a period of high liquidity for the sector. Data from Artemis as of October 21 recorded a cumulative year-to-date volume of $394.2 billion across the global prediction market, an area where Kalshi accounted for $309.8 billion. Furthermore, in the week ending October 18, the firm posted a weekly record of $21.5 billion after surpassing 100 million processed transactions for the first time.
Despite these activity figures, the company faces legal challenges in multiple U.S. jurisdictions questioning the legal classification of its operations. New York authorities filed a formal lawsuit on July 31 through Attorney General Letitia James and Governor Kathy Hochul, alleging that the entity operates commercial gambling schemes without a license and exposes local users to unauthorized financial risks.
Similar legal actions were brought in Connecticut, aimed at contesting sports-event derivative contracts. In the state of Utah, judicial authorities sued five corporate entities affiliated with Kalshi along with two Susquehanna operating firms, alleging local fee collections ranging between $30.6 million and $61.2 million.
In response to these state actions, Kalshi contends that its services are regulated at the federal level under the CFTC framework. The company argues that federal law preempts state gambling statutes, a position supported by the regulatory body across several proceedings.
Judicial opinion within the U.S. court system remains divided on this jurisdictional question. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has issued rulings favoring Kalshi’s regulatory standing, whereas the Sixth and Ninth Circuits have handed down opinions upholding the regulatory enforcement powers of the suing states.
The rollout of event-linked financial instruments continues to draw interest from traditional Wall Street institutions. In October 2025, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) formalized an investment commitment of up to $2 billion in competing platform Polymarket, while Nasdaq entered technical collaborations with Kalshi focused on market surveillance tasks.
Pending decisions across the federal courts of appeals are expected to set the next definitive regulatory standard regarding the operational viability of these contracts under local gambling legislation.
