Kalshi CEO Says He Is Exploring More Measures to Protect Losing Users
Kalshi Chief Executive Tarek Mansour said in an interview with Bloomberg’s The Circuit on October 28, 2026, that the company is studying additional ways to protect customers who lose money on the prediction-market platform. Mansour said that irresponsible users are a real concern for this kind of product. In response to research showing that most Kalshi customers lose money, he said retail speculators also perform poorly in recently popular products such as options and futures, but those losses have not stopped Kalshi from discussing with regulators the creation of more safeguards.
Mansour said that their message is not that there is nothing to see here. Their message is, let’s regulate it, let’s figure out the right guardrails and what gaps exist. The company has announced a monthly $2,500 deposit cap for customers under 21 and will automatically place those users into special accounts designed to curb high-risk behavior. Mansour said he would be open to regulators raising the legal age limit for prediction markets to 21. He also distinguished the platform from gambling, saying that customers are losing money to other customers, not to the platform itself, and that its role is to establish fair rules for the market.
Original source:
Title: Kalshi CEO Eyes Guardrails After Studies Detail Customer Losses Publisher: Bloomberg Publication date: 2026-10-28 URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-28/kalshi-ceo-eyes-guardrails-after-studies-detail-customer-losses Source type: media report Verification status: Relevant passages and quotations were actually read for this report, verification date 2026-10-28 Supporting content: Supports all core facts in the body, including Mansour’s remarks about protecting losing users, irresponsible users, discussing guardrails with regulators, and the background that studies show most customers lose money
Title: Kalshi CEO Considers Stricter Safety Rules and $2,500 Youth Deposit Caps amid High Trader Losses Publisher: TipRanks Publication date: 2026-10-28 URL: https://www.tipranks.com/news/kalshi-ceo-considers-stricter-safety-rules-and-2500-youth-deposit-caps-amid-high-trader-losses Source type: media report Verification status: The full relevant content was actually read for this report, verification date 2026-10-28 Supporting content: Supports the monthly $2,500 deposit cap for those under 21, the special accounts, and Mansour’s remarks about the age limit and that customers’ losses go to other customers
ABAB AI Insight
Tarek Mansour is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Kalshi. Founded in 2018, Kalshi operates as a CFTC-designated contract market and is regulated federally, with a framework that differs from that of traditional gambling platforms. Earlier, in May 2026, the company introduced customer protection tools including face recognition, suggested deposit limits, and an Inner Circle sharing feature; even earlier, in March 2025, it launched the Customer Protection Hub, which includes deposit caps, trading pauses, and voluntary opt-out options.
This statement expands protections from existing tools to additional guardrails being discussed with regulators, and specifically puts into place a deposit cap for users under 21. Mansour emphasized that the platform does not act as a counterparty, that users’ losses go to other users, and that revenue comes from trading fees. This differs from the structure of a sports bookmaker, which typically acts as the house and derives profits from customer losses. The platform is currently open to most U.S. users over 18, while service has already been paused in some states, and it faces lawsuits in multiple states over whether sports contracts fall under state gambling regulation.
Compared with other prediction markets such as Polymarket, Kalshi has chosen to publicly discuss user losses and guardrails and to accept a possible increase in the age threshold. Similar historical cases include early retail options and futures trading, where platforms responded to retail losses with risk disclosures, margin, and suitability rules. This round of measures targets young users and irresponsible trading, but no mandatory limits or trading cooldown mechanism for all users has been announced yet.
If the guardrails are later formally adopted by regulators, they could change the platform’s customer-acquisition and deposit path for users aged 18 to 20, while reinforcing its positioning as a federally regulated exchange rather than a gambling platform. Key indicators are whether the deposit cap expands to more age groups and whether the specific guardrail discussions with regulators become enforceable rules.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Prediction markets spread losses through user-to-user trading, but platforms still need to proactively set guardrails to address regulatory and public-opinion pressure.
Age limits and deposit caps have become concrete tools for prediction markets to respond to criticism of irresponsible users, rather than relying solely on disclosures.