Plus500 Uses Kalshi Clearing to Enter US Prediction Markets

Why Plus500’s US Launch Looks Planned, Not Experimental

Plus500’s decision to introduce regulated prediction markets on its US retail platform reflects a strategy that has been developing quietly inside the group’s American operations for several years, rather than a short-term product test. The London-listed broker said its US B2C platform, Plus500 Futures, will now offer event-based contracts tied to economic data, financial milestones, geopolitical developments, and other defined real-world outcomes.

The contracts are listed through Kalshi and cleared directly by Plus500 using its full clearing membership with Kalshi Klear LLC. That detail sets the launch apart from typical brokerage partnerships in emerging asset classes. Instead of acting as an introducing broker or routing customer flow to a third-party venue, Plus500 is embedding itself deeper in the trade lifecycle.

For a group best known for CFDs and non-US markets, taking responsibility for post-trade processing, margining, and customer positions in the US marks a clear departure from its historical operating model. The prediction markets launch is therefore less about adding a new product and more about using infrastructure that has already been built.

Investor Takeaway

A US Derivatives Platform Built Years Earlier

Plus500’s US expansion began well before event contracts entered mainstream regulatory debate. In 2021, the group acquired Cunningham Commodities and Cunningham Trading Systems, securing a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant along with the licenses needed to clear and carry US customer accounts. That acquisition led to the formation of Plus500US Financial Services LLC, now an NFA member and CFTC registrant.

At the time, the focus was conventional futures. But the operational stack created through that acquisition — onboarding, margin frameworks, reporting, and risk controls — closely mirrors what is required to support regulated event contracts once they are treated as derivatives rather than gambling products.

This context explains why Plus500 has highlighted that it is clearing trades itself. The firm is not outsourcing the economic core of the transaction. It is extending the same regulated machinery it built for futures into an adjacent market that shares similar operational demands.

Kalshi as the Regulated Access Point

Kalshi occupies a distinct role in the US prediction markets landscape. Since its founding in 2018, the exchange has focused on bringing event-based contracts under the federal derivatives framework instead of state gaming regimes. That effort culminated in regulatory approval that allows certain event contracts to trade under CFTC oversight.

Kalshi’s position strengthened further after it launched its own clearinghouse, Kalshi Klear LLC. By controlling both the exchange and clearing layers, it offers partners a structure that closely resembles traditional futures markets. For brokers like Plus500, that structure makes it possible to participate as clearing members rather than remaining passive distributors.

Clearing membership also introduces barriers that are difficult to replicate quickly. Legal approvals, capital requirements, and operational readiness all create friction for new entrants, reinforcing the value of early infrastructure investment.

The CME and FanDuel Connection

Plus500’s move into prediction markets did not begin with its own retail audience. In December 2025, the broker was named clearing partner for the event-based contracts platform launched by CME Group in partnership with FanDuel. Branded as FanDuel Prediction Markets, the platform launched in five US states and was framed as a regulated alternative for certain event-driven outcomes.

Plus500’s role in that venture centered on execution and clearing, not customer acquisition. The same capabilities are now being deployed on its own platform. Viewed together, the sequence suggests a deliberate rollout: first supporting third-party infrastructure alongside established US brands, then applying the same model to internal distribution.

Investor Takeaway

Regulatory Signals and the Value of Clearing

The timing of Plus500’s launch aligns with changing regulatory signals. In late January 2026, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission indicated it intends to develop formal rules for event contracts, stepping away from earlier efforts to restrict entire categories. That approach points toward a framework built through rulemaking rather than ad hoc enforcement.

Tensions remain. State regulators continue to challenge federally regulated platforms where contracts resemble sports betting, and court decisions in late 2025 underscored unresolved jurisdictional boundaries. Still, a clearer federal path favors firms with capital, compliance capacity, and established clearing infrastructure.

In that context, clearing becomes the central asset. It determines who controls risk, who collects fees, and who regulators turn to when problems arise. By clearing directly through Kalshi Klear, Plus500 moves beyond the role of front-end broker and into the core of a regulated market structure.

Whether prediction markets become a niche feature or a core component of US retail trading will depend on how regulation develops and how far platforms expand into sensitive contract types. What is already evident is that Plus500’s entry reflects years of preparation, not a sudden shift in direction.