Kalshi, Robinhood partner for March Madness following cease-and-desist extension
The renewed partnership was announced by both sides on Monday (17 March). Robinhood will launch a standalone prediction market hub in its app, made possible through Kalshi. According to Front Office Sports, Robinhood had just under 25 million users as of last November.
The first markets will be on the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, which begin on Tuesday (18 March) and Wednesday (19 March), respectively. There will also be contracts listed for whether the Federal Reserve will change the federal funds rate at its May meeting.
Last month, the exchanges partnered to offer Super Bowl contracts, but Robinhood quickly backed out following pushback from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi and Crypto.com, another entrant into the prediction space, kept their Super Bowl contracts active before and during the game. In light of that, it would appear that Robinhood is ready for a renewed push.
“We have been in close contact with the CFTC over the past several weeks and look forward to continuing to work with them to promote innovation in the futures, derivatives and crypto markets,” the company said in a statement. “These contracts will start rolling out today and will be available to all eligible customers in the coming days.”
In a post on X, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said his team has worked to list contracts for “every single March Madness game”, adding that both companies were in “lockstep”.
Announcement follows Kalshi cease-and-desist extension
News of the partnership comes days after Kalshi secured an extension to a cease-and-desist order issued by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) on 4 March. The order initially set a deadline of 5pm on 14 March for the company to exit the state. Regulators also warned that previous operations remain subject to criminal and civil penalties.
In a statement on Friday (14 March), the NGCB confirmed Kalshi had requested an extension to respond. The board indicated it did not object to a “limited period of additional time”, but it did not specify any additional details.
In its initial order, the NGCB said prediction markets, which include election betting, are “unlawful in Nevada, unless and until approved as licensed gaming” in the state. The order represented the first regulatory action taken against the controversial exchange by any state.
Uncertainty surrounding federal stance
From a federal standpoint the future of prediction markets is unclear. Last fall, Kalshi defeated legal challenges from the CFTC in federal court, effectively opening the prediction market floodgates. Prior to and during the November elections, Kalshi and others took in billions worth of election contracts.
Since then they have moved into sports outcomes, which has caught the attention of the gaming industry. The speed of action has allowed the exchanges to offer betting on the Super Bowl and now March Madness, the two biggest US sports betting events of the year.
Last year the CFTC vowed to continue its quest to shut down the markets, but that seems to have changed in 2025. President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, was named as an advisor to Kalshi in January. Then in February, Trump nominated former Kalshi board member Brian Quintenz to be the next chairman of the CFTC.
On 5 February, the CFTC announced it will soon host a roundtable discussion on prediction markets. In advance of that discussion the commission received more than 20 submissions. The majority came from tribal interests, which are vehemently opposed to what they deem to be unlawful infringements on exclusivity and sovereignty.
By contrast, there were few industry comments. This could be an indication that operators are mulling potential business opportunities. One industry stalwart is already kicking the tires as, according to Dustin Gouker’s Closing Line newsletter, DraftKings has a pending application for “DraftKings Predict” with the National Futures Association (NFA).
Per the NFA site, “CFTC regulations also require, with few exceptions, CFTC registered firms to be NFA Members.”