CNN Begins Showing Gambling Odds On News Under Kalshi Partnership

CNN is promoting gambling odds from the platform Kalshi under a surprising partnership.

Under the deal that kicked off Dec. 3, CNN has backend access to the betting company’s “data” (i.e., gambling odds) for real-world current events, including politics, elections, and the weather.

Kalshi, which now handles billions of dollars in monthly trading volume, mostly in sports markets, is controversial. Numerous states have accused it of offering illegal sports gambling. The CNN deal is reportedly unrelated to sports.

Nevertheless, all of Kalshi’s betting markets can cause financial and online gambling addiction harm to users.

Factoring in Kalshi’s fees, the average return across its contracts is negative 22%, according to a 2025 paper from researchers at University College Dublin.

What’s in The CNN-Kalshi Partnership

According to a press release:

• CNN has access to Kalshi’s odds through an API.
• CNN features Kalshi odds through a live ticker.
• Gambling odds automatically update in real time. 
• CNN data analyst Harry Enten promotes the integration.

The Kalshi odds ticker on CNN debuted on Dec. 3, 2025.

Terms of the reportedly exclusive deal were not disclosed. According to a report in The New Yorker, Kalshi is paying CNN under the agreement. It does not appear that CNN and Kalshi have an affiliate relationship under which CNN would be compensated for Kalshi sign-ups.

Gambling on CNN Shows?

Kalshi offers so-called “mention markets” on CNN shows. It’s unclear whether CNN will promote this form of gambling, which is vulnerable to insider trading.

Why is CNN Working With a Gambling Site?

The partnership gamifies CNN’s content through online gambling, an addictive product. 

CNN SVP of strategic partnerships and business development Sam Felix claimed to Axios: “CNN is renowned for accurate, fact-based journalism and analysis that helps audiences understand what’s happening.”

“By partnering with Kalshi to showcase prediction market data in our programming, CNN journalists will have a fresh, data-based angle from which to explore and better understand the world around us.”

More Addiction Concerns

CNN promotes gambling odds on current events that can be unsettling to some viewers. Political current events can be especially emotionally charged.

News consumption is already an addiction for many people. So-called prediction markets such as Kalshi could add another layer of addiction to the equation.

These CFTC-regulated prediction markets can deeply harm users, and their trading-style structure introduces risks that differ from those in traditional betting apps and online casinos.

Still, gambling on the weather, such as a city’s monthly rainfall or high temperature for a specific day, is essentially no different than gambling on a slot machine in terms of randomness.

Conflict of Interest

Donald Trump Jr. is an advisor to Kalshi and an investor in Kalshi rival Polymarket. Trump Media & Technology Group plans to launch a Truth Predict gambling product in the future.

These businesses market themselves as “prediction markets” and either operate as, or plug into, CFTC-regulated derivatives exchanges. Critics say the CFTC under the Trump Administration has turned a blind eye to prediction market-style sports betting.

The Trumps are profoundly linked to the nascent sector. CNN’s partnership with Kalshi raises serious red flags about the trustworthiness of its news coverage.

Congressional Backlash to Kalshi-CNN Deal

On Dec. 15, Congressman Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08) wrote a letter to Caroline Pham, Acting Chairwoman of the CFTC,  about the recently announced partnership between Kalshi and CNN.

Congressman Hamadeh said that the partnership “poses direct and foreseeable threats to market integrity, democratic stability, and American national security.” He also claimed that Kalshi and CNN working together is “not merely inappropriate; it is outright dangerous.”

He added:

“CNN would be uniquely positioned to shape public perception and news cycles around the very events Kalshi lists as tradable markets. These events would involve elections, war, foreign policy crises, and domestic instability. No other major media outlet has attempted such a partnership, and for good reason: it creates a built-in structural conflict of interest that allows an influential news organization or foreign adversaries to shape outcomes for financial or competitive advantage. I am not surprised that a media entity that has faced persistent concerns regarding accuracy, impartiality, and narrative framing would allow the potential for foreign governments, domestic political groups, or adversarial actors to escalate tensions, manipulate narratives, and pressure institutions in order to profit through Kalshi’s event-contract platform.”

Kalshi Addiction Help

The growing popularity of prediction markets will cause more people to be exposed to gambling addiction. If you need immediate assistance, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

You are not alone if you’ve developed an addiction to betting, including the nascent “prediction market” form. You should consider talking to a therapist or counselor for help quitting gambling.

A gambling prevention or recovery coach could also help you or someone you know. Studies have shown that half of online bettors experience problems with their play.

Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay.