What can I use if Kalshi isn't available in my country?

Kalshi's Member Agreement names more than fifty restricted jurisdictions, including the UK, France, Italy, Belgium and Poland. Polymarket is the main alternative, but it blocks some countries too, and no workaround changes the fact that using a venue against its terms puts your funds at risk.

Is there a regulated US alternative to Kalshi?

Polymarket re-entered the US in late 2025 as a CFTC-licensed exchange after acquiring QCEX, so it is now one. PredictIt operates under a narrower research exemption. Availability still varies by state, so check before you fund an account.

Can I run arbitrage if I can't use Kalshi?

Not the Polymarket-Kalshi pair, because it needs a funded account on both. Without Kalshi you would need another venue that lists the same events and allows programmatic trading, and we have not found one with comparable overlap.

Kalshi Alternatives (2026) | Arbitrage Agent

If Kalshi isn't an option, the main alternative is Polymarket. It is the only other venue with a large catalogue and a documented trading API, and it now also runs a US exchange. PredictIt is the other established name, but it has no trading API and caps your position. Which one you can actually use depends on where you live.

That last point is the one that catches people out. This article is about what to do when Kalshi is closed to you, or when you want a second venue. If you are looking at it from the Polymarket side, read Polymarket alternatives instead.

Why Kalshi might not be an option

Your country is on the restricted list. Kalshi's Member Agreement names more than fifty jurisdictions, including the UK, France, Italy, Belgium and Poland. If you are on that list the platform will not onboard you.
You are in the US but your state limits the product. Availability of event contracts still varies by state.
You want a second venue. Some traders do not want all their capital on one platform.

Do not try to get around a restriction. Using a venue against its own terms risks the account and the funds in it. The legal picture is in Is prediction market arbitrage legal?

Polymarket: the main alternative

Polymarket runs a blockchain-based central limit order book, settles through UMA's optimistic oracle, and has a very broad market list. It re-entered the United States in late 2025 as a CFTC-licensed exchange after acquiring QCEX. Its weakness for Europeans is the reverse of Kalshi's: it is open by default, but several European regulators have moved against it, and that list has been growing. Fees and the order of magnitude of what you actually pay are in Polymarket fees explained.

PredictIt: established, but not built for automation

PredictIt is the only other long-running name for US traders. It operates under a research exemption, caps the amount you can hold in a single contract, charges on profits and withdrawals, and has no official trading API. Fine for a directional view on a political race, unsuitable for automated execution. See Kalshi vs PredictIt.

What about sportsbooks and betting exchanges?

Regulated betting exchanges exist, but they operate under gambling licences rather than the derivatives framework Kalshi trades under, and they do not share its catalogue or its API conventions. A venue that is legal for sports betting does not automatically have the same footing for trading on event outcomes. Treat them as a different product, not a drop-in replacement.

How to choose

Access first. Check the venue's terms for your country, immediately before funding.
Automation. If you want to run anything programmatic, a documented API is a requirement, not a nice-to-have.
All-in cost. Fees on trades, deposits, withdrawals and profits all count against a thin edge.
Overlap. For arbitrage, only events listed on both venues matter.

The honest answer for arbitrage

Cross-platform prediction market arbitrage buys YES on one venue and NO on the other, so you need a funded account on each. Polymarket and Kalshi are the pair with the deepest overlap. If Kalshi is closed to you, there is no substitute we would call equivalent, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a workaround.

If you can use both, expect modest numbers: a median net of roughly 0.7% per position, held until the contract resolves, at a median of around 100 to 110 days. The live figures are on /proof.

Where Arbitrage Agent fits

Arbitrage Agent scans thousands of Polymarket and Kalshi markets, matches events with AI and validates the resolution rules, then shows you the net edge after both venues' fees and the two orders to place. Automated execution is still in final testing and rolls out to Operator subscribers first, so the Starter plan today means signals and step-by-step guides. Once you have confirmed you can use both venues, see the plans.

Key terms: Prediction Market Arbitrage · CLOB (Central Limit Order Book) · Event Contract

Kalshi Alternatives in 2026: What to Use If Kalshi Isn't an Option