On Kalshi, in no month prior to October 2025 did esports contracts trade more than $0.4 million. In August 2026, they peaked at $391 million on the platform . In the twelve months to September, esports volume on the platform totalled $1.73 billion.
It’s a small part of a vastly larger machine, but it’s enough to show that interest in esports still exists — despite what the naysayers may tell you.
If we replace the Chinese Zodiac signs with gambling-buzzwords, 2026 is well and truly the year of the Prediction Market. Prior signs may include: NFTs, crypto, online poker, sweepstakes, social casino. The list could increase ad infinitum. If I were a trader, I’d be trading yes for “rip pulls” to be 2027’s hot topic.
If you’re in or around the gambling industry, then you’ll be well accustomed to literally only reading about Kalshi, Polymarket, and the growing gaggle of operators vying for a slice of the pie. They’re vying for a slice in between being sued by state gambling regulators, suing state gambling regulators, and largely doing whatever they want because of the frankly bonkers regulatory system over in the United States.
Still, prediction markets data is available via API, and if you’ve got time and a decent grasp of what you’re looking for, it can provide some interesting takeaways and signals. They’re not as ironclad a “truth” signal as Donald Trump Jr. will have you believe, but they still throw up data, and data is certainly helpful for interpreting consumer behaviour.
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