Kalshi And Polymarket Could Become Takeover Targets, Says Bernstein

Kalshi And Polymarket Could Become Takeover Targets, Says Bernstein CryptoProwl Mon, June 29, 2026 at 7:53 PM GMT+2 2 min read DKNG HOOD COIN Kalshi And Polymarket Could Become Takeover Targets, Says Bernstein Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket could become takeover targets amid a wave of industry consolidation, say analysts at Wall Street broker Bernstein. The analysts argue in a note to clients that prediction markets are likely to see a spike in the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as more companies look to enter sports betting and other forms of gambling. "Kalshi and Polymarket own the stack but trail on distribution, which leaves each as plausibly a target," says a team of analysts at Bernstein led by Ian Moore.

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Rival Polymarket is also expected to pursue an IPO at some point. However, Bernstein says that new entrants in the prediction market space such as DraftKings (NASDAQ: $DKNG), Robinhood (NASDAQ: $HOOD) and Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: $COIN) could look to grow through M&A activity. Bernstein says that M&A makes sense as prediction markets converge with sports betting and consumer finance into a single competitive landscape.

Prediction markets have entered the mainstream over the past two years, fueled by the success of betting on sports and election outcomes. Larger companies such as Robinhood, Coinbase, and DraftKings have entered prediction markets in an effort to challenge Kalshi and Polymarket, the two biggest platforms. Kalshi was recently valued at $40 billion U.

S. , while Polymarket's most recent valuation was $15 billion U. S.

Bernstein says the economics around prediction markets are starting to shift, with companies that own their own exchanges retaining revenue that previously flowed to third-party platforms. Coinbase has reached roughly $100 million U. S.

in annualized prediction market revenue, while Robinhood has traded more than 16 billion U. S. of event contracts this year.

Kalshi and Polymarket remain logical acquisition targets in the prediction market space because they own exchange technology but lack consumer distribution, says Bernstein. In the end, Bernstein says consolidation among prediction markets is inevitable as companies look to achieve economies of scale. Consolidation will also reduce promotional spending, improve efficiencies, and create operational synergies.

Neither Kalshi nor Polymarket is currently a publicly traded company.