NFL bars Saquon Barkley from Polymarket stake as Kalshi hits $40bn
Kalshi closed a $1bn funding round valuing it at $40bn even as US senators and the NFL tighten scrutiny of prediction markets, SBC Americas reports.
Kalshi has completed a $1bn funding round that values the prediction market exchange at $40bn, according to SBC Americas, as the company continues to fight multiple US states over its right to offer sports-related event contracts.
The round was co-led by Wellington Management and Sequoia Capital. It roughly doubles the $22bn valuation set after a previous raise in May and marks an eightfold jump from the $5bn figure recorded in October 2025, SBC Americas reported.
The increase comes despite rulings against Kalshi from multiple US circuit appeals courts and reports of artificially inflated trading volumes, the outlet noted. In the same week, Kalshi deepened ties to traditional finance through a partnership with S&P Dow Jones.
In a blog post announcing the raise, Kalshi said the new capital would go towards building what it called a next-generation financial exchange offering a wider range of products beyond prediction markets. Comments from chief executive Tarek Mansour have also fuelled speculation that the company could pursue an initial public offering in 2027.
Separately, Senators Elizabeth Warren and John Curtis wrote to Mansour and Polymarket chief executive Shayne Coplan on 28 October, pressing both companies on how they police election-related contracts for insider trading and manipulation. The senators asked how many suspected cases each firm had identified and how many were referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or law enforcement.
"We are particularly troubled by election-related event contracts," the senators wrote, adding that documented cases of candidates betting on their own races "undermines the overall integrity of the American electoral process." They said they remained "skeptical that your companies can sufficiently police these even contracts with effective scrutiny and meaningful accountability," and requested responses by Election Day, 3 November.
On the sports side, Front Office Sports reported that the NFL instructed Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley to divest his equity stake in Polymarket, citing a league-wide ban on players investing in or endorsing prediction market firms. "I am not in that right now," Barkley told the outlet. "I am not allowed to be in that. I was in it before, but no bueno."
The NFL confirmed to Front Office Sports that the prohibition extends its existing ban on players promoting or investing in sportsbooks. The league itself has no commercial deal with any prediction market operator, though it does partner with DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics, all of which also run prediction market products.
That stance contrasts with other major US leagues. The NBA this week announced official partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, joining the MLB and NHL in signing commercial agreements with the operators. NBA players including LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo already hold individual deals with Polymarket and Kalshi respectively, while Atlanta Braves player Ronald Acuña Jr became the first MLB athlete to sign with Kalshi.
Separately, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear Kalshi's appeal against a Wisconsin court ruling that denied its motion to dismiss a case brought by the Ho-Chunk Nation, SBC Americas reported.