Czech Republic, October 6, 2026; the Ministry of Finance added Kalshi.com on September 30 to its official list of unauthorised internet games, triggering a requirement for internet service providers to block the domain by October 15. The measure makes Kalshi the second major prediction market targeted by Prague after Polymarket, which was added to the blacklist in July 2026.
The competent authority is the Czech Ministry of Finance, headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alena Schillerová. The relevant technical unit is Department 73 — Procedural Agendas and Gambling Regulation, led by Martin Šabo, under Act No. 186/2016 Coll., the Gambling Act. The Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU), chaired by Marek Ebert, technically maintains the unified list of blocked websites, while ISPs implement the restriction.
Marek Ebert
The case was also pushed by the Institute for Gambling Regulation (IPRH), an industry association representing approximately 95% of the Czech legal gambling market and led by Jan Řehola, a former head of gambling regulation at the Ministry itself. Its position is that economic substance should prevail: if a person risks money on an uncertain outcome, calling the product a “contract” does not remove its gambling nature.
Jan Řehola
The figures explain the regulatory pressure. Kalshi handled US$59.2 billion in contract volume during September, up 48% from August, accounted for more than 80% of aggregate volume among the main monitored platforms and reached US$238.8 billion from January through September. Market reports also place its current capital-raising ambitions around a US$40 billion valuation. The dispute is transatlantic. In the United States, KalshiEX LLC operates as a Designated Contract Market registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) since November 3, 2020. The CFTC, chaired by Michael S. Selig, even approved on May 29, 2026 a perpetual bitcoin contract submitted by Kalshi.
In Europe, meanwhile, Belgium, France, Romania, Spain and Germany have taken restrictive positions toward certain prediction markets, while Gibraltar is moving toward a specific regulatory framework. Its Gambling Commissioner, Andrew Lyman, has argued that regulation can be preferable to outright blocking. Kalshi Chief Risk Officer Udesh Jha said at SBC Summit Lisbon 2026 that the company wants to expand further in Europe, precisely as several regulators are challenging its legal classification.
