Sensor Tower: Kalshi gains ground on sportsbooks during March Madness and beyond

Summary

• Sensor Tower has confirmed that Kalshi continues to gain ground in the traditional sports betting space through its prediction contracts
• Kalshi has not been spending as much as traditional sportsbooks on March Madness promotions
• Regardless, 11% of sports bettors in the country are also using Kalshi’s platform in the first quarter of the year

---

A new report by Sensor Tower confirms what others have suspected - Kalshi continues to gain ground on traditional sports betting operators during March Madness, but also in the broader market.

Kalshi is steadily gaining ground in sports betting space

According to Sensor Tower, the platform had a 21% MAU share in Q1 2026 compared to 3% in Q1 2025, with operators losing between 1% and 6% of their share. Sensor Tower noted that 11% of sports bettors in the United States have also been using Kalshi during Q1 2026 compared to only 2% in Q1 2025. Much of this growth has been driven through paid advertising, the analytics firm noted, adding that 55% of Kalshi downloads came from paid sources. While Kalshi is also reliant on big events, such as the NFL and the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the upcoming NBA Playoffs, it is offering the platform more opportunities to continue gathering momentum. After a very successful expansion into sports wagering in early 2025, Kalshi has continued to amass market share at the cost of established sports betting platforms. While traditional sports betting platforms’ expansion is at the discretion (and mercy) of US state legislatures, prediction market platforms can operate in nearly every state with few restrictions, Sensor Tower said in its report. Kalshi saw a 96% jump in app downloads in the first week of March Madness, far outpacing traditional sports betting platforms, which enjoyed 43% for DraftKings and 28% for FanDuel, respectively. Fanatics saw a 17% gain, indicating the popularity of the prediction market platform. In the meantime, March Madness is driving higher overall marketing spending, with companies dishing out 400% more year-over-year on advertising. In the meantime, Kalshi has been able to gain significant ground without necessarily spending too much on March Madness promotions (not least because the NCAA has objected). In comparative terms, Kalshi only spent 1% of its marketing budget in March 2026 on March Madness promotions (famously the $1-billion bracket) compared to 3% for FanDuel and 7% for DraftKings.