Kalshi expands protections for users aged 18-20

Prediction market platform Kalshi is expanding protections for young traders aged 18-20, which includes a new monthly deposit limit.

Accounts in the age range will now have a $2,500 monthly deposit limit, Kalshi announced in a press release Tuesday. They will be automatically placed into “special accounts” that will have extra protections and built-in responsible trading education.

“Like the stock exchange, Kalshi is available only to traders 18 and older,” said Luana Lopes Lara, COO and co-founder of Kalshi in the release. “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.”

The company also announced new partnerships with organizations — Parent ProTech and ConnectSafely — to publish a Parents’ Guides to Prediction Markets, according to the release.

“The guides will give parents everything they need to know to ensure responsible trading habits and keep minors off of Kalshi,” the release said.

Among the new features announced is also a trade alert, which will pop up when a new trader with a balance over $1,000 puts more than 25 percent of that balance in a single trade, encouraging them to diversify their trading.

Digital safety for kids amid the growing popularity of prediction markets has been a rising concern in Congress , with several lawmakers introducing legislation to protect minors.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan pair of senators introduced legislation to ban digital gambling advertisements that target minors. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), aimed to establish a federal ban on sports betting ads on social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok.

Before that, Blumenthal introduced another bill in March that was aimed at preventing abuse and fraud in prediction markets.

In May, Kalshi introduced a new initiative making face ID the default for users who already have it enabled on their phones. The platform also encouraged parents to use Kalshi with two-factor authentication to prevent their kids from accessing their accounts.