The Czech Republic has moved to block access to Kalshi after adding the US prediction market operator to its official list of unauthorised internet gambling services.
The Ministry of Finance placed Kalshi.com on the blacklist on 30 September 2026, extending a regulatory approach that previously resulted in rival prediction market Polymarket being added to the same list in July.
Under Czech gambling rules, internet service providers must prevent access to websites included on the list of unauthorised internet games. Ministry guidance states that the blacklist covers websites offering gambling without the required Czech authorisation, including services directed at people residing in the country.
Following publication of the Kalshi decision, Czech ISPs have 15 days to implement the restriction. Conventional access to the platform is therefore expected to be blocked from 15 October.
Czech authorities treat prediction markets as gambling
The Institute for Gambling Regulation (IPRH), which represents more than 90% of the Czech regulated gambling sector, said Kalshi’s inclusion follows the precedent established by the action against Polymarket.
IPRH had previously warned that Polymarket was unlikely to be an isolated case and said authorities would need to examine other platforms offering comparable prediction-market products. The institute identified Kalshi as one of the most significant operators requiring similar assessment.
The central issue is how event contracts are classified. Kalshi allows customers to trade contracts whose value depends on the outcome of real-world events. In the US, the company operates as a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-regulated designated contract market and treats its products as financial contracts rather than conventional gambling.
Czech regulators take a different view. IPRH argues that when customers risk money on uncertain real-world outcomes, the economic substance of the product should determine its regulatory treatment rather than whether it is described as a contract, investment or financial innovation.
That dispute is becoming increasingly important as prediction markets expand internationally. Several European jurisdictions have taken action against platforms they consider to be offering gambling products without local licences, creating a regulatory environment markedly different from the US federal model.
European ambitions face regulatory barriers
The Czech action comes as Kalshi continues to pursue international growth. Chief Risk Officer Udesh Jha said during the SBC Summit in Lisbon that the company wants to expand further in Europe, although the growing number of national regulatory interventions presents a significant obstacle.
Kalshi is also expanding rapidly from a financial perspective. Reuters reported in late September that the company was in advanced discussions to raise about $1 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of approximately $40 billion. The potential financing would represent a substantial increase from the roughly $22 billion valuation attached to an earlier 2026 funding round.
The Czech decision nevertheless reinforces the challenge facing prediction-market operators in Europe: obtaining recognition as financial trading venues in one jurisdiction does not automatically exempt their products from national gambling laws elsewhere.
For Czech authorities, the addition of both Polymarket and Kalshi indicates that prediction markets offering money-based contracts on uncertain events will be assessed according to existing gambling legislation unless they secure the authorisation required to serve the domestic market.