The casino-fication of news
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Two major news networks, CNN and CNBC, recently announced partnerships with Kalshi, an online predictions market. Kalshi allows the public to place bets on a dizzying variety of news events. There are currently Kalshi markets for the winner of the 2028 presidential election, next month’s unemployment rate, next week’s top TV show on Netflix, whether the announcers will say “Cheesehead” during Sunday’s Green Bay Packers football game, and thousands of other future events.
The CNN deal, which starts immediately, involves the “integration of Kalshi data across CNN programming“ and “a new Kalshi-powered real-time news ticker that will run during segments that feature Kalshi data.” The CNBC deal, which begins in 2026, will “incorporate real-time prediction data into CNBC’s editorial coverage across its TV, digital, and subscription channels.” Kalshi will also create “a CNBC page on its site, featuring CNBC-selected markets.”
The economic terms of the arrangement between Kalshi and the two networks were not disclosed.
Unlike other prediction markets, Kalshi has sought regulatory approval from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). After winning a lawsuit against the CFTC that allowed it to take bets on the 2024 presidential election, the platform has exploded in popularity. Trading volume is expected to exceed $50 billion in 2025, up from $300 million in 2024.
The new partnerships with CNN and CNBC will not only draw more users to Kalshi but fundamentally change the nature of news. It is no longer just a mechanism to learn about and understand world events. The news is now an opportunity to speculate on future events for financial gain.
“Kalshi is replacing debate, subjectivity, and talk with markets, accuracy, and truth,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a December 2 press release. “We have created a new way of consuming and engaging with information.” CNN and CNBC, two of the most prominent news outlets in the world, are endorsing and legitimizing this model of journalism.
These deals take a style of reporting popularized by election polls — horserace-style coverage that emphasizes who is ahead or behind — and expands it to virtually every topic. The gamified coverage is paired with the promotion of a company, Kalshi, that allows the public to place wagers on the outcome of these events.
How the wealthy can manipulate and distort prediction markets — and the news
Treating Kalshi’s betting markets as “news” is based on
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