When the Los Angeles Rams meet the San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it will be the first regular-season NFL game played in Australia. According to iGaming Business, an estimated 10,000 US fans are expected to attend. The same report says those visitors will not be able to trade on US prediction market Kalshi from their seats, because such trading is not permitted in Australia.

What the regulators have said

The report attributes the position to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the national financial services regulator. Last month, ASIC reiterated that prediction markets are not licensed as financial markets to operate in Australia. The trade publication described the guidance as perhaps the regulator's strongest warning yet against the asset class. ASIC urged consumers to be cautious before taking part in certain investments on offshore platforms that have not obtained licensing in Australia.

In a statement released in August, ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland wrote that people who choose to deal with overseas operators may miss out on "protections" afforded to them on Australian soil, according to the report.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has also acted in this area. The report says ACMA banned Polymarket from operating nationwide in 2025. According to the agency, as relayed in the report, Polymarket breached the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 by accepting in-play betting on sports events.

Kalshi's own restrictions

Kalshi has been relatively quiet on any international expansion, the report says. It notes there is some sentiment that the company will wait until after an initial public offering before building abroad, and that Kalshi has sought a valuation of around $44 billion. The source does not specify the currency, and these are market sentiment and company-reported figures rather than verified facts.

The report says Kalshi requires proof of US residency and a US tax identification number at sign-up. Traders must also complete a know-your-customer check before trading. A nine-page member agreement issued by Kalshi in June reportedly requires users to acknowledge that they may not trade event contracts if domiciled in roughly three dozen countries. Australia is on that list, with the report linking its inclusion to the ASIC ban. Under the agreement, Kalshi reserves the right to deny access to users in restricted jurisdictions.

The NFL's concerns

The report also covers the league's view of prediction markets in the United States. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell spoke to CNBC from Melbourne ahead of the game.

"We think there needs to be stronger regulations into the predictive markets," Goodell said. "We want to see that to protect the integrity of our game – we want to make sure we are protecting the consumers that are on those platforms."

According to the report, the NFL wrote to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in May listing event contracts it considered objectionable. In July it made public comments to the CFTC after the agency issued draft regulations for the contracts. The league cited contracts on player injuries, penalty totals and missed field goals. Goodell conceded that the NFL has held discussions about prediction markets as public policy evolves.

The report adds that Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League have each signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CFTC allowing participating teams to partner with operators.

What is not disclosed

The source does not say whether ASIC or ACMA has taken enforcement action against Kalshi in Australia. It also does not explain how the ASIC guidance would be enforced against individual traders. Readers should treat the market prices and valuation figures quoted in the original article as commercial data, not as advice or endorsement. Nothing in this report is a recommendation to trade or gamble on any platform.