Kalshi-Backed Lobby Group Names Trump Ally Taylor Budowich as Strategic Adviser
Summary
- Kalshi-backed prediction-market lobbying group Americans for Fair Markets appointed Trump ally Taylor Budowich as a strategic adviser.
- The appointment is seen as part of the prediction-market industry's push to expand its influence in Washington and over regulatory matters.
- Kalshi said the new group would support the CFTC's authority over prediction-market regulation, while the US House has opened an investigation into Kalshi and Polymarket.
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A new lobbying group backed by US prediction-market platform Kalshi has hired a close ally of President Donald Trump as a strategic adviser.
Cointelegraph reported on May 24 that Americans for Fair Markets, a prediction-market lobbying group, appointed former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich to the role.
Budowich is regarded as a key figure in Trump's inner circle. The appointment is seen as a sign the prediction-market industry is moving to expand its influence in Washington and on regulatory matters.
The group was launched with Kalshi's backing and plans to pursue policy efforts against sports-betting operators and the casino industry. Kalshi argued that incumbent operators are spreading negative perceptions of prediction markets to preserve their monopoly.
The group's debut is part of a broader lobbying push by the prediction-market industry. In December 2025, the Coalition for Prediction Markets was formed with participation from Coinbase, Crypto.com and Robinhood.
Views in Washington and among regulators remain divided. The US House of Representatives recently opened an investigation into Kalshi and Polymarket over insider-trading controls.
Kalshi said the new group would support the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's authority over prediction-market regulation. A jurisdictional dispute between federal regulators and state governments over prediction markets continues in the US.
