Kalshi adds India to scaling list of restricted jurisdictions

Kalshi has added India to its list of restricted jurisdictions, officially blocking Indian residents and entities from using its platform. This move follows India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025, which bans prediction markets under online money game restrictions. Adding India reflects Kalshi reacting to global regulatory changes that are reshaping its expanding user base.

India’s Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act 2025

The Act creates a clear legal framework banning online money games, including prediction markets, leaving no room for ambiguity for platforms operating in or accessible from India. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) enforced this by warning users who ignored previous government orders.

🇮🇳 Indian government is planning to ban Kalshi and Polymarket in India over prediction market concerns.

MeitY called these platforms “illegal” under Indian rules.

Bloomberg reported that Polymarket and Kalshi were still allowing Indian users to sign up and trade, even after… pic.twitter.com/p9HSCLwc74

— Kashif Raza (@simplykashif) May 22, 2026

This law targets not only platforms but also intermediaries such as virtual private network (VPN) providers. Kalshi’s India ban fits this strict legal stance and shows the company’s priority on compliance under growing regulatory pressure.

Global trend of restricting prediction markets

A growing number of countries have banned or limited platforms like Kalshi. These moves correspond with a broader global crackdown on prediction markets, which some regulators see as risky or legally ambiguous. Kalshi stands out because it’s regulated as a designated contract market by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), allowing compliance with American derivatives laws, but this status holds no legal weight in countries like India.

Impact on Indian users and Kalshi’s operations

Indian users who previously had access to Kalshi now face immediate lockout due to this ban. By late May 2026, many Indian internet service providers began blocking Kalshi’s website. Some users attempted to bypass these blocks using VPNs, but government warnings directed at VPN vendors make clear that this workaround won’t be tolerated. This India ban shrinks Kalshi’s geographic reach while the platform tries to innovate and expand in regulated markets such as the U.S. Notably, the restricted jurisdictions list has grown to include India, which influences Kalshi’s terms of service, according to Crypto Briefing’s coverage.

Kalshi’s regulatory positioning and compliance

Kalshi is among the few prediction markets regulated by the CFTC in the United States. It operates as a designated contract market under the agency’s rules, giving it a legal platform to trade event contracts spanning political elections, sports events, and other outcomes.

Balancing innovation and jurisdictional compliance

Kalshi’s situation in India highlights broader industry struggles between fostering innovation and respecting legal boundaries. Prediction markets often sit at the crossroads between gambling and financial derivative regulation, which complicates their legal status. India’s 2025 Online Gaming Act makes it clear that partial compliance isn’t allowed — operators must fully comply and restrict access as per local laws.

Regulators like MeitY enforce compliance by engaging with ISPs and VPN services, aiming to block unauthorized access and reduce grey market activity. Platforms adapting to such enforcement will need to implement robust geo-blocking technologies and legal monitoring — steps essential to operating within the law.

Outlook

Adding India to the restricted list is a key part of Kalshi’s global compliance efforts and highlights the growing challenges prediction markets face worldwide. India’s clear ban under the Online Gaming Act, combined with enforcement actions, reflects a broader regulatory trend to control online wagering platforms, as noted by Crypto Briefing.

While CFTC regulation gives Kalshi strength domestically, it doesn’t offer protection internationally.