As Major League Baseball's regular season nears its conclusion, Kalshi has finalized partnerships with five teams, notably the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are two-time World Series champions. On Tuesday, the prediction markets operator revealed that it has secured exclusive, multi-year branding agreements with the Dodgers as well as the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, and San Francisco Giants. However, Kalshi’s sports event contracts are currently suspended in Massachusetts because of a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general, awaiting a ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
The Dodgers, Padres, and Giants are three teams based in California, a key market for Kalshi, particularly as sports betting remains illegal in the state. As of now, approximately 25% of all MLB teams have partnered with a prediction market operator, bringing the total to seven teams. Previously, the New York Mets made headlines by becoming the first MLB franchise to partner with a prediction market when they signed with Novig in late July, closely followed by Polymarket's agreement with the New York Yankees.
"Baseball fans have made Kalshi part of how they engage with the game. We’re excited to keep investing in them and in the sport," Kalshi stated in an announcement on X.
Fans can expect to see promotional activities linked to these partnerships starting Tuesday night when the Braves face the Dodgers in a three-game series at Truist Park. The collaborations will include various forms of in-stadium signage, along with social media, online promotions, radio spots, and fan engagement initiatives.
In the matchup, the Dodgers' Tyler Glasnow (3-0, ERA 2.72) will be starting. According to Kalshi at 3 PM ET, the Dodgers were given a 60% chance to win against the Braves, and Shohei Ohtani was assigned a 27% chance to hit a home run, slightly higher than Braves’ first baseman Matt Olson’s 20%. Glasnow has a 59% probability rate for at least six strikeouts in the game.
The Dodgers will kick off a six-game road trip before returning home on September 1 to play against the St. Louis Cardinals. As part of the new partnership, the Dodgers will rename the Golden Glove Bar, located beneath the left field pavilion, to the Kalshi 435 Club.
Kalshi will also offer fans exclusive deals and on-site experiences during the season at Centerfield Plaza. Over the past year, baseball-related trading volume with Kalshi has increased nearly 36 times, demonstrating significant engagement.
Adam Barrick, head of sports partnerships at Kalshi, said, "The idea is that fans are already engaging with their favorite teams on Kalshi, so it only makes sense to extend that fandom to some of the most beloved baseball teams in America."
Regarding World Series forecasts, Kalshi indicated that the Dodgers had a 34% chance of winning the championship in 2026, meaning a $100 bet could return around $282. The New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers have much lower odds at roughly 10% to win. The Yankees stand at 24% to clinch the American League title, while the Tampa Bay Rays and Red Sox are at 22% and 15%, respectively.
As the Dodgers strive for their third straight title, Ohtani is chasing his third consecutive National League MVP. MLB.com recently released its MVP preview, polling 37 experts who predicted that Ohtani would finish behind Pete Crow Armstrong of the Chicago Cubs, who secured 29 first-place votes. Armstrong has a 67% chance of winning MVP on Kalshi, while Alex Bregman trails with just 1%.
Earlier this year, Polymarket entered into a partnership with MLB to become the league's exclusive prediction market exchange partner, shortly after MLB signed an agreement with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission concerning a regulatory framework for prediction markets. Following Tuesday's announcements, Major League Baseball did not comment on the new Kalshi partnerships, and only the Red Sox acknowledged the deals on social media by posting an emoji to express their approval.
