Kalshi backs away from college athlete transfer markets after NCAA president blasts possibility

Prediction market Kalshi said it has no plans to allow its users to wager on whether or not top college athletes will enter the transfer portal, even though the company sought permission from regulators.

"We have no immediate plans to list these contracts," a Kashi spokesperson told The Block. "There are many markets we certify but don't launch."

The spokesperson pointed out that Kalshi often certifies markets — essentially asking for permission to possibly list — that it does not end up making available to users. Kalshi provided a few examples of contracts that have been certified and then not listed, including one that would have allowed users to wager on whether or not an animal will come out of extinction.

Revelations that Kalshi could list event contracts on college athlete transfers quickly drew the ire of the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Wednesday, with the group's president blasting the company online. "The NCAA vehemently opposes college sports prediction markets,” NCAA President Charlie Baker posted to X.

"It is already bad enough that student-athletes face harassment and abuse for lost bets on game performance, and now Kalshi wants to offer bets on their transfer decisions and status," Baker added. “This is absolutely unacceptable and would place even greater pressure on student-athletes while threatening competition integrity and recruiting processes.”

When a college athlete enters the transfer portal, they are formally signaling they are interested in moving to another school, and it opens the door for other programs to contact them. In its filing submitted to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Kalshi had said contracts on the transfer portal would list starting Wednesday, according to ESPN.

Kalshi fires back

Collegiate athletes' "decisions and future should not be gambled with, especially in an unregulated marketplace that does not follow any rules of legitimate sports betting operators," Baker said Wednesday.

Kalshi, which has long touted the fact that it is regulated in the U.S., fired back.

"It's inaccurate to say we are unregulated," a spokesperson told The Block. "We are a federally regulated exchange, governed by the Commodity Exchange Act and its hundreds of regulations."

Kalshi is regulated as a Designated Contract Market permitted to exchange and trade futures, swaps, and options on commodities.

Both Kalshi and its main rival, Polymarket, list event contracts that allow users to bet on the outcome of college games, especially football and basketball.