Kalshi, Polymarket Targeting $20 Billion Valuations
McMaster has openly expressed his opposition to Columbia's attempts to establish a commercial casino. The governor is in his last year of office and has a restricted term.
Kimbrell has announced his intention to run for McMaster's position. However, recent polling indicates that only approximately 4% of voters currently support him.
At this point, US Representative Nancy Mace (R-NC) and South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson are reportedly the front-runners for 2026. Mace has not made any public statements about sports betting. Wilson, though, is vehemently against it.
Wilson has referred to internet sports betting as "frictionless gambling," which results in monetary loss and other negative social effects.
If any or both businesses were worth $20 billion, that would be a substantial increase in a short period of time. Kalshi was valued at $11 billion after a $1 billion fundraising round in late 2025. Last October, Polymarket received a $2 billion investment from Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) at a premoney valuation of $8 billion. After the investment, Polymarket was estimated to be worth between $9 and $10 billion.
Is Kalshi, Polymarket, Rich with $20 Billion?
Investors will determine whether a $20 billion valuation for Kalshi and Polymarket is too high. That is undoubtedly a substantial amount.
It is evident that, despite their claims to be financial services or technology firms, prediction market operators are frequently likened to gaming organizations because sports event contracts are the main sources of volume. At $20 billion, Kalshi and/or Polymarket would be worth around the current value of Flutter Entertainment (NYSE: FLUT), the owner of FanDuel.
DraftKings' (NASDAQ: DKNG) $12.55 billion market capitalization would be significantly less than each or both firms' $20 billion valuation. Another interesting fact is that, at $20 billion, Kalshi and/or Polymarket would be worth more than all US-listed casino operators, with the exception of Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS).
Opponents may argue—and they have a point—that Polymarket's $20 billion valuation may be excessive given that the company is still not operating in the US, despite expectations that it would be by the end of last year.
Can Investors in Kalshi and Polymarket Ignore Criticism?
Allocating cash to prediction markets entails risk, just like any other investment. Investors and venture capitalists are aware of this, although it might be argued that the dangers are increased now because of legal disputes and the involvement of some members of Congress.
Kalshi, Polymarket, and others are involved in numerous state-level legal disputes because of sports event contracts, which regulators claim are simply sports bets under other names. Because prediction markets lack permits to provide sports bets, those regulators contend that they are in violation of state gaming laws.
Congress is observing. A Democrat from New Mexico wants to use the Farm Bill to prevent sports event contracts, a Republican from California and Utah introduced the Event Contract Enforcement Act, which prohibits sports and other event contracts, and a group of Democratic senators proposed a bill to restrict insider trading on yes/no exchanges, according to headlines that surfaced over the past two days.
