Following the Polymarket ban, the Czech Ministry of Finance has added Kalshi to its list of unauthorised gaming operators.
The Czech gaming operator association, the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling (IPRH), welcomed the move, noting that authorities are also assessing other prediction markets operating on similar principles.
IPRH Director Jan Řehola stated: "We said with Polymarket that it was an important precedent, but not the end of the process. The inclusion of Kalshi shows that this approach is actually being translated into practice.
"The product's name should not be decisive, but its true essence. If a person is investing money in the uncertain outcome of a real event, it should not be possible to circumvent the rules simply by labelling the bet as a contract or financial instrument."
Most European regulators that have taken a formal stance on prediction markets characterise them as essentially gambling. Against this backdrop, Polymarket recently commenced a lobbying campaign with European regulators to classify its contracts as financial products.
The operator is seeking regulation as a financial services firm specifically to avoid being subject to a fragmented set of gambling laws.
Its legal team met with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Chair over the summer. However, ESMA is likely to be reluctant to appease Polymarket, as it earlier warned that prediction markets face heightened insider trading risk.
Polymarket's team also met with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and reportedly some other European regulators, who also aren’t really keen on recognising its sports and political markets as financial products.
In September, Kalshi introduced AI agents to automate trades on its platform
