Kalshi launches advocacy group with Trump aide backing

Kalshi is backing a new advocacy group to fight the gaming lobby over prediction market regulation.

The new organization, Americans for Fair Markets, launched on May 22 to shape federal policy on prediction markets and federally regulated exchanges. It will run paid and earned campaigns to counter what it describes as false narratives spread by sportsbook and casino interests.

AFM has tapped Taylor Budowich, who most recently served as Deputy White House Chief of Staff under Susie Wiles, as its strategic advisor. The hire signals Kalshi’s deepening ties to Republican political circles as the prediction market industry faces intensifying regulatory scrutiny.

Why Kalshi is escalating its lobbying effort

The launch comes as the gaming lobby mounts its own offensive. FairPredicts, a new group backed by casino interests and led by former Governor Chris Christie through the American Gaming Association, recently began a six-figure ad campaign targeting Kalshi directly.

“We’re not going to be outspent or out-organized by entrenched interests protecting their monopolies,” said John Bivona, AFM board member and Kalshi’s Head of Government Relations.

AFM will join the existing Coalition for Prediction Markets but focus specifically on campaign-style tactics. Kalshi has seen 32x growth in annualized trading volume, and the broader industry now represents roughly $500 billion in assets.

As crypto.news reported, prediction markets have been moving toward institutional adoption, with Bernstein pointing to Kalshi’s first bespoke block trade as a milestone. The company also explored crypto perpetual futures earlier this year.

The regulatory backdrop is shifting rapidly. The bipartisan Gillibrand-McCormick bill dropped earlier this month as the first comprehensive federal framework for prediction markets.

The CFTC is also undergoing a rulemaking process expected to strengthen consumer protections. Kalshi previously secured data partnerships with Fox and CNN, embedding real-time prediction odds into mainstream news coverage.