Professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau is to become Kalshi’s official athlete ambassador in a first for the prediction market company. The LIV Golf player and two-time U.S. Open champion has more than 4.3 million followers on his social media platform and will integrate Kalshi markets to his content.
It marks a notable shift in outreach from Kalshi, which has been under fire for recently pairing with fake news accounts on X in a recent report by The New York Times.
DeChambeau joins Blackhawks in major sports link-up with Kalshi
Confirming the agreement on X, Kalshi posted: “Bryson’s content will integrate Kalshi markets to his audience of millions in an industry first partnership.”
DeChambeau praised the company as a unique organization: “Kalshi is building something completely different. As the world’s largest prediction market and one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, Kalshi is creating a fun and more engaging experience for people to predict and forecast the future.”
The golfer is the first pro athlete to sign terms with Kalshi, while the National Hockey League (NHL) outfit Chicago Blackhawks remains the first sports franchise. The six-time Stanley Cup champions signed an exclusive partnership last month.
It also comes fresh off the back of an exclusive shared partnership between Kalshi, Polymarket and the NHL announced in October last year by the NHL. Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi, said the NHL agreement was proof that prediction markets are “here to stay.”
He added: “Teaming up with the NHL is an important milestone for Kalshi and the industry at large. To have a league like the NHL embrace Kalshi is a testament to the integrity, safety, and trust with consumers that Kalshi has spent years building during our time pioneering this asset class.”
Partnership comes amid pressure campaign on prediction markets
While Kalshi continues to build its audience, it is fighting several pressure campaigns on various fronts as state government officials get increasingly uneasy around the advent of sports betting contracts.
The state of Tennessee issued a cease-and-desist letter dated January 9, 2026, to prediction market companies, with Mary Beth Thomas, Executive Director of the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (TSWC), citing “an immediate and significant threat to the public interest of Tennessee”. The case has since been blocked by a federal judge, but the fight remains ongoing.
Arizona, Illinois, Montana, Maryland, Nevada, Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and New York are other states to actively resist or effectively ban prediction market operations or participate in legal or administrative action against the industry.
Both Kalshi and Polymarket appear to be benefiting from their respective relationships with Donald Trump Jr. The son of President Donald Trump operates as the strategic adviser to Kalshi and sits on the advisory board of Polymarket. He is also linked to significant investment in the latter through his venture capital firm, 1789 Capital.
Questions swirl around prediction market oversight
Some observers are questioning the relationship between prediction market firms and Trump Jr and the decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to back off enforcement efforts on the sector.
Ann Skeet, the senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics in Santa Clara, California told The New York Times: “It’s problematic to have the president’s son in the mix.”
However, spokesman for Trump Jr, Andrew Surabian, refuted any need for his client to step down from his respective roles. In a statement, he said: “The idea that Don, who has never worked in the government in his life, should cease working in the private sector and providing for his five children, just because his dad was elected president, is an absurd premise.”
Another tense political issue is emerging on the horizon for prediction markets, after an individual made $400,000 on a trade pontificating on the future of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The specter of insider trading still looms large
The anonymous Polymarket account’s $400,000-plus windfall from a wager on Maduro’s ouster was placed just hours before U.S. forces captured him, prompting lawmaker and watchdog warnings that opaque, loosely regulated platforms could be exploited by traders with access to privileged information.
In an article for the Washington Post, Congressman Ritchie Torres wrote: “There may be no greater cesspool of corruption in the making than the intersection of prediction markets and the federal government.
“Public officials, political appointees or staff may gain access to sensitive, nonpublic information, and then leverage it for personal profit in largely deregulated markets. These are not fanciful hypotheticals but flashing warning signs of a system vulnerable to abuse if left unchecked.”
As Kalshi pushes deeper into mainstream sports and influencer partnerships, its growth is increasingly colliding with unresolved regulatory and ethical questions. The DeChambeau deal speaks to how quickly prediction markets are expanding beyond finance and politics into mass-audience entertainment. Whether regulators are willing or able to keep pace may determine how far that expansion can go.
