Kalshi Offers Promo Code for College Football Week 1 Trading

Kalshi is offering a promo code, NYPMAX, for College Football Week 1, allowing first-time traders to receive a $25 bonus when they trade $25.

Users can apply the Kalshi promo code NYPMAX when creating an account, verify their information, and complete at least $25 in trades to qualify for the bonus. The offer is applicable to any Week 1 college football contest, daily baseball games, or other events available on the platform. This development follows a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling last Friday that determined the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) does not preempt Nevada from enforcing its gambling laws against Kalshi's sports-related event contracts.

The decision, which affirmed an earlier district court ruling, means prediction platforms like Kalshi, Crypto.com, and Robinhood can no longer offer sports event contracts in Nevada. The ruling could also pave the way for other 9th Circuit states, such as Arizona, to enact their own regulations governing prediction markets. The case centered on whether Kalshi's sports event contracts qualify as swaps under the CEA, which would exempt them from state gambling laws.

The 9th Circuit adopted a narrow textual reading of swap, differing from the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted Kalshi an injunction against New Jersey regulators in April. Kalshi allows users aged 18 and older to trade event contracts, a practice critics argue exploits a loophole in gambling laws that typically restrict sports gambling to those 21 and older.

An analysis by CNN indicated that users between 18 and 21 traded an estimated $5.4 billion on Kalshi this year, with $3.9 billion in sports-related events. A Kalshi spokesperson told CNN that users in the 18-21 age range constitute 3.14% of its overall trading volume. New York State is suing Kalshi, alleging it operates an unlicensed gambling platform.

Kalshi maintains its prediction markets do not constitute gambling because users are matched with other users, not the platform itself. Kalshi operates in 34 states and territories.