• by Wendy Davis , Yesterday

The ad industry's self-regulatory watchdog said Monday it has referred online prediction platform Kalshi to the Federal Trade Commission as well as various state attorneys general and social platforms because the company allegedly failed to participate in a review of its influencer marketing.

The BBB National Programs' National Advertising Division (NAD) said in a written opinion that it attempted to investigate whether Kalshi's social media ads adequately informed consumers about potential connections between itself and influencers or affiliates.

"Kalshi declined to participate in the NAD self-regulatory process," the watchdog wrote. "As a result, NAD is unable to complete its review of the challenged advertising, including whether Kalshi’s social media advertising clearly and conspicuously disclosed material connections between Kalshi and its influencers or affiliates and whether Kalshi maintains adequate measures to ensure compliance with the FTC Endorsement Guides."

The NAD added that it had identified several social media posts in Instagram and X that potentially lacked disclosures. One example flagged by the watchdog was the X account PredictionMarketTrader, which allegedly had a pinned post that highlighted monthly Kalshi profits. (As of Monday, that account identifies itself as a "Kalshi Partner.")

A Kalshi spokesperson said, "We comply with all applicable advertising laws and have since strengthened our communication with influencers on this topic."

Since at least 2009, the Federal Trade Commission has said online endorsers must disclose material connections between themselves and advertisers. The agency subsequently updated that guidance to specifically say that social media users who have any relationships with the businesses or people they endorse should disclose those connections when writing reviews, posting on Instagram or tweeting.