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Congressman Abe Hamadeh has shared concerns about the partnership between Kalshi and CNN, highlighting “threats to market integrity, democratic stability, and American national security”.
Congressman Abe Hamadeh wrote a letter to Acting Chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Caroline D. Pham, outlining concerns centered around the recently announced partnership between Kalshi and CNN. Specifically, Congressman Hamadeh wrote that this partnership “poses direct and foreseeable threats to market integrity, democratic stability, and American national security” and described it as “not merely inappropriate; it is outright dangerous.”
“CNN would be uniquely positioned to shape public perception and news cycles around the very events Kalshi lists as tradable markets,” wrote Congressman Hamadeh. “These events would involve elections, war, foreign policy crises, and domestic instability. No other major media outlet has attempted such a partnership, and for good reason: it creates a built-in structural conflict of interest that allows an influential news organization or foreign adversaries to shape outcomes for financial or competitive advantage.
“I am not surprised that a media entity that has faced persistent concerns regarding accuracy, impartiality, and narrative framing would allow the potential for foreign governments, domestic political groups, or adversarial actors to escalate tensions, manipulate narratives, and pressure institutions in order to profit through Kalshi’s event-contract platform.”
Congressman Hamadeh cited Section 5c(c)(5)(C) of the Commodity Exchange Act, which requires the CFTC to prohibit contracts involving war, gaming, or anything contrary to public interest, such as markets that could be vulnerable to manipulation. He argues that the Kalshi–CNN partnership would violate that section, pointing to bets about “whether Palestinians in Gaza would suffer mass starvation,” and “when Israel will bomb Gaza, bomb the West Bank, or annex either?”
“The situation is chilling, and I have questions,” stated Congressman Hamadeh. “We need to know if the Commission is assessing this partnership to see if it is creating vulnerabilities for foreign or domestic actors to influence U.S politics, economics, or national security outcomes for financial profit.”
Kalshi responds to the claims
Kalshi has publicly responded to Congressman Hamadeh’s claims, writing on X: “With all due respect, you’re accusing Kalshi of things we don’t do. The markets you list (e.g. “Will Israel strike Gaza”) are on a competitor’s site, not Kalshi’s. And Kalshi rules prohibit CNN employees from trading on any contract where CNN would be a source of information.”

With all due respect, you’re accusing Kalshi of things we don’t do. The markets you list (e.g. “Will Israel strike Gaza”) are on a competitor’s site, not Kalshi’s. And Kalshi rules prohibit CNN employees from trading on any contract where CNN would be a source of information.
— Kalshi News (@KalshiNewsroom) December 17, 2025

Indeed, searching for ‘Israel’ on Kalshi brings up a host of related contracts, but none related to actual strikes. Instead, Kalshi’s markets include questions like “will the US halt military aid to Israel?”, and “who will be the next new Prime Minister of Israel?”
Congressman Hamadeh has given the Acting Chair 30 days to outline the Commission’s assessment and its intended actions regarding the Kalshi–CNN partnership.
Featured image: Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The post US Congressman raises concerns about Kalshi/CNN partnership in public letter appeared first on ReadWrite.

Four brands under the Flutter gambling arm will need to pay £2 million in fines after social responsibility failures were exposed.
The UK Gambling Commission has handed down a £2 million fine to four remote operators trading under Paddy Power and Betfair, owned by Flutter, as part of a settlement after an investigation exposed social responsibility failures relating to customer interaction. Those operators are PPB Entertainment Limited, PPB Counterparty Services Limited, Betfair Casino Limited, and TSE Malta LP.
Specifically, the Commission found that the operator’s systems were not sensitive enough to identify early indicators of harm. One example given is a customer depositing £12,000 across a 15-day period, another £25,000 in 25 days, and another a massive £86,00 across 16 days before any of them were interacted with.
Other red flags included intense activity spikes, with sessions just shy of eight hours where 300 bets amounting to £20,000 didn’t trigger any communication from the operators. Behavior like this should be picked up by operators as potential indicators for gambling-related harm, according to the Commission.
“This £2 million settlement reflects the seriousness of the failings identified and the importance of meeting social responsibility and customer interaction standards,” said John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement at the Commission. “Our compliance assessment in 2024 uncovered examples where interactions fell far short of what is required.
“These failings should never have occurred. While the licensees co-operated fully with the investigation, accepted the failings early, and implemented an action plan quickly, this immediate response is the minimum we expect from operators when serious shortcomings are identified.
“Operators must ensure systems to identify and address harm work effectively and at the right time. Over-reliance on automation and failure to intervene when clear harm indicators are present exposes consumers to unnecessary risk. Where we find failings, we will act decisively to protect players.”
This isn’t the first social responsibility failure for Paddy Power Betfair
This is the second time that Paddy Power Betfair has faced regulatory action for social responsibility failures, with the operator slapped with a £490,000 fine back in 2023 for marketing to vulnerable consumers.
“Flutter takes its safer gambling responsibilities incredibly seriously and we firmly believe that we lead the industry in player protection,” said a spokesperson for Flutter’s UK and Ireland arm. “Customer safety is our number one priority and there is no suggestion that any of the customers reviewed by the Gambling Commission experienced any harm.
“Our controls have evolved significantly and we recently introduced a next-generation customer safety platform, with the vast majority of checks now happening in real-time. As such, we are confident that the issues highlighted by the commission in its public statement would not be repeated today.”
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons – Wikimedia.org, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
The post Paddy Power Betfair must pay £2 million fine after social responsibility failures appeared first on ReadWrite.