Now you can not only vote in US Congressional elections, but bet on them, too

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — People began betting on which political party would win control of Congress in the November elections within minutes of a judge’s ruling Thursday allowing the bets — the only ones to be legally approved by a U.S. jurisdiction.

New York startup company Kalshi began taking what amounts to bets on the outcome of the November congressional elections after a judge refused to block them from doing so.

The ruling enabled the company, at least temporarily, to offer prediction contracts — essentially yes-or-no bets — on which party will win control of the Senate and the House in November.

“The Kalshi community just made history, and I know we are only getting started,” said Tarek Mansour, a co-founder of the company. “Now is finally the time to allow these markets to show the world just how powerful they are at providing signal amidst the noise, and giving us more truth about what the future holds.”

It was not clear whether the company intends to offer bets beyond the ones posted Thursday for congressional races, including potentially taking bets on the presidential race.

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