The 2026 NFL season is officially underway after a busy off-season that saw Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie trade to the Rams, Aaron Donald make the shock call to come out of retirement, and the Patriots bring in A.J. Brown. This season, the American Gaming Association (AGA) projects a staggering $29.5 billion in legal NFL bets will be made, too, a near record-breaking amount. And according to the AGA, a significant chunk of betting revenue will be driven by prediction markets, which have quickly taken over US sports betting in just a couple of years. Sports bets now make up 80% of Kalshi’s trading volume, including an estimated $5.1 billion from Gen Zers aged 18-20, with NFL betting leading the pack, so let’s discover whether Kalshi is a must-try for bettors during the 2026 season.

What is Kalshi? The Prediction Market Platform That More NFL Bettors Are Starting to Use

■ $470m was traded across Kalshi’s four biggest NFL markets between Aug. 10–Sept. 8 this year

■ Fans bet $2.5 million on the Seahawks vs Patriots Week 1 game-winner market ahead of kickoff

■ Over $80 million has already been traded on Kalshi’s 2027 Super Bowl winner market

There are two huge trends in NFL betting at the moment. The first is the huge rise in the number of fans using tools for NFL betting, and the second is the explosion of ‘prediction markets’. For those not up to scratch, Kalshi is the leading prediction market, followed by Polymarket. Through Kalshi, Americans can place yes-or-no bet contracts on countless real-life events, including pop culture, economics, politics, and, of course, sport. In the case of the NFL, it’s one of the biggest draws that Kalshi has, experiencing huge trading volumes ever since the 2025 season.

How it works is you select your desired NFL market and pick YES or NO on whether the future outcome will happen or not. For example, ahead of the 49ers vs the LA Rams, whichever team you go with, you simply choose yes or no on whether you think they’ll win. There are no odds involved and contracts are instead priced between $0.01 and $1 to directly represent the implied probability of an event happening. At this current second, the Rams are priced at 65%, meaning a $10 ‘YES’ bet through Kalshi on them to win would return $15.38 if they won.

When you compare traditional sportsbooks like BetMGM and FanDuel to prediction markets like Kalshi, the major difference is that sportsbooks offer fixed-odds bets on the outcome of NFL events, while prediction markets let users trade contracts based on the probability of an NFL event occurring. Essentially, prediction markets are a simplified version of betting, as all you’re doing is picking markets you’re interested in and selecting yes or no for whether you think those particular events will happen or not, and this is ultimately why the likes of Kalshi are so popular with NFL fans at the moment.

Kalshi’s NFL Markets

When you use Kalshi, what NFL markets does it actually offer? Compared to traditional sportsbooks, there are significantly less markets available. Instead, Kalshi and other prediction markets tend to only offer the ‘big’ markets that have the most demand. And as of right now, these are the markets you can access:

▸ NFL champion

▸ AFC champion

▸ NFC champion

▸ Game winners

▸ Point spreads

▸ Over/under totals

▸ Awards like MVP Winner and Coach of the Year

So, there are still plenty of fun and exciting markets, including fantasy NFL as well, but just keep in mind that only the most in-demand markets are available, as sports betting is still a growing sensation in the prediction market space. If, say, you wanted to bet on Matthew Stafford getting 250+ yards in the upcoming 49ers vs LA Rams game, you wouldn’t be able to do this on a prediction market and would need to use a sportsbook instead, as they offer more in-depth markets.

Kalshi Remains Legal for Sports Bettors in the US

Since 2025, Kalshi, Polymarket, and other prediction markets have exploded in the US, pulling in millions of users in the process. Naturally, this has led to a legal spotlight being put on them by a growing number of states, who believe these prediction market sites should be regulated the same way that traditional sportsbooks are (currently, prediction markets aren’t classed as betting sites).

New York is currently suing Kalshi, while several other states are pushing for heavy regulation. Yet despite this, Kalshi remains legal in over 40 states throughout the US, including several locations where online betting sites are completely prohibited. In cases like this, Kalshi is providing sports bettors with an outlet for betting that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

Moving forward, Kalshi is unlikely to be banned in the US due to how popular it has become and the revenue it continues to generate. NFL fans are also hooked on it, so all that may happen is that a growing number of states begin regulating Kalshi in a stronger way and limiting certain markets that it offers.

Should You Use Kalshi in the 2026 NFL Season?

Kalshi is a solid option for NFL bettors, especially newbie bettors who prefer a more simplified experience. You get to bet on the biggest NFL games and markets, follow live price movements, take future positions on season-long outcomes, and even find value that traditional sportsbooks miss. The trade-off is that there are fewer outcomes to bet on, but in the long run that doesn’t matter if you’re only interested in the big games and moments. Plus, Kalshi is legal in the vast majority of states, making it one of the most easily accessible outlets for sports betting, so it’s easy to see why close to $30 billion will be wagered on the ongoing 2026 NFL season.