Kalshi Restricted Countries List for Prediction Markets and Perps

If you live outside the United States, your country decides whether you can use Kalshi. Kalshi's Member Agreement bars event contract trading from 55 named jurisdictions, and its perpetual futures are open only to US residents.

Governments keep a second list. Brazil, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic have ordered internet providers to block Kalshi even though it accepts their residents, because their regulators class prediction markets as gambling.

Below are both lists, the US state fight, Kalshi's licences and the best alternatives if Kalshi is closed to you.

Which Countries Does Kalshi Restrict?

If you live in or are located in any of 55 jurisdictions, you cannot trade Kalshi event contracts. The list sits in Section VI of the Kalshi Member Agreement, last revised on 1 October 2026, and also covers any territory under country-wide or regional US sanctions.

Sanctioned or high-risk states such as Iran, North Korea, Russia and Syria are excluded for US sanctions and anti-money laundering reasons. Wealthy markets such as the UK, France, Australia and Canada are excluded because local law treats wagering on events as licensed gambling or regulated binary options.

India is the only change this year. Kalshi added it on 17 June 2026, Cointelegraph reported, after India's online gaming law made prediction markets a banned form of online money gaming. No country has been removed.

The agreement says the restrictions "apply solely to the trading of Event Contracts". It covers anyone domiciled, organised or located in a listed country, so a German resident visiting the UK is restricted for the length of the trip.

Where Can You Use Kalshi Outside the US?

Outside the 55 listed jurisdictions, you can open a Kalshi account and trade the same US dollar order books as American members. Kalshi opened international sign-ups on 10 October 2025 and claimed more than 140 countries, but it publishes no list of supported countries.

Countries absent from the list include Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Nigeria and South Africa. Several of those now block Kalshi from their side.

International members get fewer payment options. Kalshi's international help page and transfers FAQ set out the methods below.

• Deposits: Visa or Mastercard debit cards, international wires (minimum $1,000, received in USD) and crypto, with a $10 minimum deposit.
• Withdrawals: debit card or crypto only.
• Not available outside the US: ACH bank transfers, PayPal, Venmo and Cash App.
• Currency: every balance is held in US dollars, so you pay conversion costs both ways.

Kalshi accepts USDC, BTC, SOL, XRP and several other assets through its payment partner and converts them to dollars on arrival. A non-US phone number works, though some country codes are not supported at sign-up.

Which Governments Have Blocked Kalshi?

Kalshi may be blocked where you live even if your country is missing from its list. In 2026 four governments outside the US ordered blocks on Kalshi by name, and India's gaming ban pushed Kalshi to withdraw. Kalshi had served all five.

Brazil blocked Kalshi, Polymarket and 25 other sites on 24 April 2026, The Block reported, weeks after Kalshi announced a partnership with the brokerage XP. A National Monetary Council resolution now bans derivatives on sports, politics and entertainment, while contracts on inflation, interest rates and other economic data remain possible under the CVM securities regulator.

Spain's gambling regulator, the DGOJ, opened disciplinary proceedings against Kalshi and Polymarket and ordered a precautionary block, according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The ministry said prediction markets have "the nature of games of chance". The case was expected to take three to four months, and no final ruling had been published by mid-October.

Italy's customs and gambling agency, ADM, added Kalshi to its blacklist from 27 July 2026, Punto Informatico reported, and the Czech Ministry of Finance placed kalshi.com on its list of unauthorised internet games on 30 September, giving providers 15 days to block it. Norway's Lotteritilsynet has also proposed a block, with no final decision yet.

The pressure is coordinated across Europe. Nine gambling regulators, led by France's ANJ, signed a joint warning against unlicensed prediction markets on 17 June 2026. On 3 July, ESMA reminded firms that event contracts on financial underlyings fall under the EU retail ban on binary options, and the UK Gambling Commission says these products need a betting licence.

Is Kalshi Legal in the US?

Yes, Kalshi is federally regulated in all 50 states, but courts have blocked its sports contracts in three of them. KalshiEX is a CFTC designated contract market, and the dispute is whether state gambling law can still reach its sports event contracts.

The federal appeals courts have split. The Third Circuit ruled 2 to 1 for Kalshi against New Jersey on 6 April 2026. The Ninth Circuit ruled 3 to 0 for Nevada on 28 August, and the Sixth Circuit sided with Ohio and Tennessee on 25 September, holding that sports contracts are not swaps.

The split sends the question towards the Supreme Court. New Jersey filed a petition in Flaherty v. KalshiEX on 2 September 2026, Kalshi's response is due on 9 November, and the Court has not yet agreed to hear it.

The CFTC is on Kalshi's side. Under Chairman Michael Selig it sued Arizona, Connecticut and Illinois in April and later several more states, and on 9 October it proposed a rule defining sports, political and weather event contracts as swaps under its exclusive authority. Comments close in November 2026.

Kalshi admits members from 18, while most states set sports betting at 21. The Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut lawsuits all cite under-21 trading.

Can You Trade Kalshi Perpetual Futures Outside the US?

No. Kalshi perpetual futures are open only to US-based members who have passed identity checks and applied for a margin account, and Kalshi says international availability "may expand in the future". The rule comes from Kalshi's perps eligibility policy, separate from the 55-country list.

The CFTC approved BTCPERP on 29 May 2026 in an order of approval that made it the first perpetual futures contract approved on a US exchange. Bitcoin began trading on 3 June, and volume passed $5.5 billion in the first two weeks.

The Kalshi perps page listed 28 markets on 19 October 2026:

• Crypto (19): BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, HYPE, BNB, DOGE, ADA, LINK, LTC, BCH, SUI, NEAR, AAVE, UNI, ZEC, WLD, VVV and kSHIB.
• Metals (6): gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper and aluminium.
• Equity indices (2): US Large Cap (US500) and US Tech 100, both priced from MerQube indices.
• Energy (1): WTI oil, a long-dated future with a 10-year expiry that Kalshi lists beside its perps.

Leverage is low by offshore standards. On 19 October it ranged from 2.2x on VVV to 15.8x on gold, with Bitcoin at 6.8x and Ether at 4.9x. The BTC contract specification prices the contract from the CF Benchmarks Bitcoin Real-Time Index, with funding every eight hours capped at 2% per interval.

After a launch waiver ended in late June, the perps fee schedule charges 0.12% taker and 0.02% maker below $100,000 of monthly volume, falling to 0.01% and zero above $1 billion. Contract details and risks are covered in our Kalshi perpetuals review.

CME Group sued the CFTC in June to overturn the approval, arguing perps are swaps, and the CFTC moved to dismiss in September, so the product's legal footing is still being tested. The wider US picture is in our guide to crypto perpetual futures regulation.

What Licences Does Kalshi Hold?

Kalshi is licensed only in the United States. Every member trades with the US entities below, under US rules and without the local protections a MiCA, FCA or MAS licence would give.

Entity	Licence	Regulator	Since
KalshiEX LLC	Designated contract market (exchange)	CFTC	3 Nov 2020
Kalshi Klear LLC	Derivatives clearing organisation	CFTC	28 Aug 2024
Kalshi Prime LLC (formerly Kinetic Markets)	Futures commission merchant	CFTC and NFA (ID 0574784)	Mar 2026

The CFTC designated KalshiEX as an exchange in November 2020 and registered Kalshi Klear as a clearing house in August 2024. Kalshi Prime holds perps margin for retail traders in segregated accounts, so Kalshi controls the full chain from order entry to clearing.

That chain let the CFTC approve a US perpetual. The missing local licence is what Brazil, Spain and Italy objected to. Kalshi was valued at $22 billion after a $1 billion round in May 2026, Bloomberg reported, yet it has no announced licence outside the US.

Kalshi markets also reach US users through brokers. Robinhood, Webull and Coinbase list Kalshi prediction markets, but none offer Kalshi perps or serve people in restricted countries.

Does Kalshi Require KYC, and Can You Use a VPN?

Kalshi verifies the identity of every member, so a VPN cannot get you around a country restriction. Each account is tied to a verified ID and a declared country of residence, and a hidden IP address changes neither.

The document verification page lists what Kalshi asks for.

• Photo ID: a physical passport or driver's licence photographed live, with no scans or screenshots.
• Selfie: a live photo in some cases, matched to the ID.
• Address: a residential address, with no PO boxes or business addresses.
• Extra checks: proof of address, employment details or source of funds when requested, plus a US Social Security number for American tax reporting.
• Age: 18 or over, or the local age of majority if it is higher.

The Member Agreement does not mention VPNs by name, but its location test does the same job. You confirm with every trade that you are not in a restricted jurisdiction, you must tell Kalshi if that changes, and Kalshi can suspend or close your account at its sole discretion.

Using a VPN to reach Kalshi from a blocked country breaks those terms and can freeze your balance. In Spain, Italy or the Czech Republic it also means using a service your government has declared illegal. Traders who want permissionless perps should start with the best decentralised perpetual exchanges and check each venue's own country rules, such as our Hyperliquid restricted countries guide.

Best Kalshi Alternatives by Region

Your best substitute depends on whether you need the prediction market or the regulated perps. Choose a platform licensed where you live.

• United States, regulated perps: Kraken has offered CFTC-regulated perpetual futures to eligible US clients since June 2026, The TRADE reported, through its purchase of Bitnomial. Coinbase offers perpetual-style futures, covered in our Coinbase perpetuals restricted countries guide.
• European Union: no EU platform is licensed for event contracts, so most traders use MiCA-licensed exchanges for spot and regulated derivatives. Our MiCA-licensed exchanges and best crypto futures platforms in Europe guides list the options.
• United Kingdom: the FCA banned crypto derivatives for retail clients in 2021, and prediction markets need a betting licence, so regulated spot exchanges and licensed bookmakers are the lawful choices.
• Canada: Kalshi restricts Canada, but the dealer regulator CIRO has approved event contracts on economic and financial outcomes, and Wealthsimple has announced a prediction markets app. For derivatives, see our best crypto futures platforms in Canada.
• Prediction markets elsewhere: Polymarket serves many countries outside the US, but its own geoblocking page puts more than 30 countries on close-only, and it faces the same gambling blocks as Kalshi in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
• Perps in other markets: compare venues by fees, licences and country access in the perpetual exchanges directory, and check live funding rates before you open a position.

If you live in a restricted country such as the UAE or Russia, our country guides to the best crypto exchanges in the UAE and Russia cover what is lawful locally.

Bottom Line

Kalshi's map runs opposite to most crypto venues. Offshore perps exchanges serve the world and block America, while Kalshi serves America with CFTC-regulated perps and turns away 55 jurisdictions for event contracts.

Brazil, Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic block Kalshi whatever its Member Agreement says, and more European regulators are moving the same way.

US traders get regulated perps on 28 markets beside the prediction markets, while the state sports fight heads towards the Supreme Court. Everyone else should pick a platform licensed in their own country and leave the VPN off.