Kalshi Sets Default Monthly Deposit Limit at $2,500 for Under-21 Traders Over Customer Loss Concerns

Kalshi has introduced a default monthly deposit limit of $2,500 (£1,880) for traders under 21, auto-enrolling 18-to-20-year-olds into special accounts this week as the US prediction-market leader responds to mounting research detailing how much money its customers are losing.

The move, announced on Tuesday, lands days after prediction markets recorded their busiest trading weekend ever. It marks a defensive turn for a sector that has spent 2026 celebrating record growth, adopting the kind of consumer safeguards long tied to sports betting.

What the New Limits Actually Do

Users aged 18 to 20 are now placed automatically into special accounts carrying the default $2,500 monthly deposit limit, Kalshi said. New traders in that group whose balances exceed $1,000 (£750) will get an alert to diversify if they stake more than 25% of their funds on a single trade. The company said the accounts pair added safeguards with education for newer traders.

'Still, we know that young adults are often new to markets and may need more education and safeguards, so we are expanding our protections for this group of users,' said Luana Lopes Lara, Kalshi's co-founder and chief operating officer.

A Record Weekend Raises the Stakes

The timing is striking. Data from Aldrin Research showed Kalshi generated $10.06 billion (£7.6 billion) of the more than $14 billion (£10.5 billion) traded across tracked prediction platforms over the late-October weekend, more than 70% of the total. Saturday alone topped $7.2 billion (£5.4 billion), the largest single day the sector has recorded, powered by the National Basketball Association season, the World Series, and college football. Roughly $3.3 billion (£2.5 billion) of the weekend's trades across those platforms were placed on sport.

Yet chief executive Tarek Mansour has acknowledged concerns about risky trading. Speaking to Bloomberg, he called irresponsible users 'a real worry' and said Kalshi is weighing further protections after studies detailed customer losses. Mansour added that he would welcome regulators setting 21 as the minimum trading age.

How Much the Limit Still Allows

The guardrails have limits. A default $2,500 monthly ceiling permits up to $30,000 (£22,600) in fresh deposits over a year if unchanged, and it applies only to new money entering an account. Kalshi, regulated as an exchange by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, argues it is not a sportsbook because customers trade against one another rather than the house, noting a 19-year-old can already open a brokerage account and buy a single stock with no comparable cap.

Regulators and States Close In

The caution comes as legal pressure builds. In July, New York sued Kalshi, with Attorney General Letitia James alleging the platform runs an illegal, unlicensed gambling operation that exposes residents under 21 to serious financial risk. Kalshi has called the suit 'political theater' and maintains its federal licence shields it from state gambling laws. A company spokesperson told CNN in August that 18-to-20-year-olds made up 3.14% of its trading volume. The New York case is one of several state challenges the company is now fighting.

For young adults treating event contracts as a way to make money, the research points the other way. The default limit may slow how fast some lose it, but does nothing to change the odds they face.