Prediction market operator and high-profile election betting provider Kalshi has recruited incoming President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as a strategic advisor.
The company announced the move on social media on Monday.
Founder and CEO Tarek Mansour told CNBC that Trump Jr.’s interest in technology and new media made him a good fit for the company, adding that the younger Trump has, “always been very in tune with what the American people feel and want.”
Trump Jr. said that the prediction market correctly forecasting his father’s election win in November was a motivation for him joining the firm.
“On Election night at Mar-a-Lago, while biased outlets called the race a coin toss, my family and close friends used the prediction market Kalshi to know we won hours ahead of the fake news media,” Trump Jr. wrote on X on Monday. “I immediately knew I had to contribute to their mission. Today, I am proud to announce that I am joining Kalshi as a strategic advisor.”
Mansour added on the social media platform that he “couldn’t be more excited” to welcome Trump Jr. to the company.
“Prediction markets have the potential to be the largest financial market and a powerful source of truth,” he wrote. “I can’t think of anyone better to help drive this mission.”
Speaking to CNBC, he dismissed any potential suggestions that the move to work with Trump Jr. is politically charged. “We’re not a political company in any way, shape or form. We’re a company that’s deeply obsessed with building a great prediction market that brings truth to the world.”
Kalshi court approval appealed by CFTC
Kalshi rose to notoriety in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election. It offered prediction betting for the election after its court victory over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
After the CFTC blocked Kalshi from providing its markets, arguing that Kalshi’s contracts were tied to gambling harm and could lead to market manipulation by exchange traders, the company sued the CFTC arguing that the regulator didn’t have the proper authority to issue a ban.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of Kalshi after determining the CFTC exceeded its authority. That verdict allowed Kalshi to offer election wagers, but the case is not over. The CFTC appealed that latest decision and oral arguments are scheduled for Jan. 17.
That will come days before the CFTC’s current chairman, Rostin Behnam, who opposed Kalshi’s election contracts, will step down on Trump Sr.’s inauguration day on Jan. 20. Behnam will subsequently be replaced by a Trump appointee.
In the meantime, Kalshi is offering popular markets including how many executive orders Trump Sr. might issue on his first day in office and who may receive a pardon from President Joe Biden.
Mansour said to CNBC that Kalshi has seen big gains in users in recent months. He added to the Wall Street Journal that Trump Jr. will offer advice as the company prepares to “aggressively expand” its operations.
