A leading national gambling-reform group is urging the United States Tennis Association to end its new partnership with prediction market platform Kalshi before the US Open Finals.
In August, Kalshi announced a multi-year partnership with the USTA, becoming the exclusive partner of the US Open beginning with the 2026 tournament.
Stop Predatory Gambling, based in Massachusetts, demanded that the USTA cut ties with Kalshi, saying the New York-based company is aggressively marketing gambling to teens and young adults.
In a letter to USTA CEO Craig Tiley, the group cited a March Wall Street Journal investigation into prediction-market marketing on college campuses.
According to the report, prediction markets are paying college fraternities and campus clubs to recruit users, along with deploying student influencers and athletes through social media.
‘Double Fault on Hypocrisy’
Stop Predatory Gambling National Director Les Bernal called the Kalshi partnership a “double fault of hypocrisy.” The USTA comprises more than 100,000 junior tennis players nationwide, while claiming to promote youth development.
Collegiate tennis players also report high levels of abuse and threats from gamblers, according to an NCAA survey.
“By integrating prediction gambling markets into the US Open, the USTA is normalizing high-risk gambling within the same youth demographic it says it works to protect,” Bernal said in a press release.
The group also raised concerns about prediction markets generally allowing customers to participate beginning at age 18, meaning some junior-level tennis players may already be eligible to use the platforms.
High Stakes Fight
Stop Predatory Gambling’s letter to the USTA comes as Kalshi suffers significant court losses across the country. More recently, the platform lost a key Ninth Circuit ruling that could put the legality of its so-called “sports-event contracts” before the Supreme Court.
In August, New York State sued Kalshi in a case that could be worth $36 billion.
Kalshi claimed it was “investing in New York” with the USTA deal.
“Kalshi was built in New York, and the US Open is part of what makes this city so great,” the company claimed. “This partnership is a long-term investment in the tournament, in the sport and in the city’s great traditions, as well as a commitment to being an active part of New York’s future.”
