Kalshi self-certifies new football betting markets ahead of NFL season

Prediction market operator Kalshi has self-certified three new football contracts with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), moving closer to offering products that resemble traditional sportsbook wagers.

The filings, published late Monday, outline markets on point spreads, over/unders, and touchdown scorers, labeled FOOTBALLSPREAD, FOOTBALLTOTALS, and FOOTBALLTOUCHDOWN. The contracts can begin trading right away under self-certification, barring regulatory intervention.

The filings include templates showing how the contracts would work. For point spreads: “Will win by points?” For totals: “Will have points in of ?” For touchdowns: “Will score in touchdown(s) in of ?”

Kalshi said the expansion aims to meet rising demand for federally regulated sports trading. “Bringing these markets under CFTC oversight gives consumers the same level of protection as Wall Street traders and institutions,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a statement. “Kalshi is bringing more liquidity, efficiency, and price competition to markets in the $400 billion sports industry, and our traction so far is testament to that.”

The CFTC has three options: reject the contracts, open a 90-day public interest review, or take no action, which would effectively allow them. The agency has never denied a self-certification in its 50-year history.

The templates for the contracts suggest a wide scope, including professional and collegiate games, although some states, such as Ohio, restrict college player props. Rules specify that touchdown markets will only count for players who take at least one snap, while passing touchdowns are excluded.

The move underscores Kalshi’s push into products that mirror sportsbook staples such as props and totals, which drive significant revenue at DraftKings and FanDuel. Industry observers say it could pave the way for parlays, a high-margin product in sports betting. The Fifty Cent Dollars newsletter noted that if props are approved, parlays are “practically inevitable.”

Kalshi has previously experimented with parlays on entertainment awards such as the Oscars and Grammys, but has not yet launched them in sports.

The filings also bar current and former NFL players, staff, coaches, league employees, team owners, and their immediate families from participating. For college football, players and staff from teams involved in the game are restricted, while NCAA rules separately ban Division I athletes from betting on their own sport.

Kalshi framed the move as a challenge to unregulated operators. Its press release said the expansion “is to meet the surging demand for legal and regulated choices, challenging the $84 billion illegal sports market and expanding access for Americans to a federally transparent, regulated, and supervised marketplace for sports trading.”

The launch comes ahead of the first U.S. football season in which federally regulated exchanges such as Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood will compete alongside state-licensed sportsbooks.