Prediction market Kalshi continued offering random bonuses of up to $2,000 in October, two months after CFTC staff warned that promotional rewards should not depend on chance. The regulator issued the warning on 12 August and set a 14 September deadline for operators to submit amendments.
At least four Kalshi promo codes active in early October — AMNY, GOAL2000, MILE and RAD2000 — offered a random bonus after a $10 deposit and $25 in trades. Users received $10, $25, $50, $100 or $2,000, with the amount determined randomly and no disclosure of the odds for each tier. An earlier version of the promotion gave 70% of users $15 and only 0.35% the top prize of $500.
Kalshi became a sponsor of CBS News on 30 September, with the network integrating the platform's market data into midterm election coverage through 3 November. CBS Sports, part of the same holding, ran affiliate content promoting code CBSSPORTS55 for a fixed $55 bonus and disclosed it may earn commission on signups. None of the CBS Sports articles mentioned the sponsorship deal struck by the parent newsroom.
On 6 October Skydance completed its $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing two Kalshi news partners under one roof: CBS News and CNN, which announced the platform as an official partner in December 2025. Kalshi submitted two incentive programme filings to the CFTC on 15 and 25 September, but the public record does not specify whether they addressed the disputed codes.
