In a dramatic move on Friday, Kalshi, a well-known prediction market platform, issued a stern warning to Netflix. The company made it clear they are prepared to pursue legal action unless Netflix removes a trailer for an impending documentary that shines a spotlight on prediction markets.
Kalshi’s head of litigation, Jovalin Dedaj, fired off a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix on Friday, accusing the trailer of displaying “false and misleading statements.” This development comes on the heels of heightened scrutiny over how prediction markets are portrayed in media.
A day earlier, Netflix unveiled scenes from the documentary “Instadocs: The Prediction Games,” scheduled for release on Sunday. The provocative trailer features influencers engrossed in watching the World Cup final from a luxurious Las Vegas mansion, as they discuss wagers placed on prediction platforms like Kalshi.
In Nevada, a court order mandates that Kalshi prohibit any sports-related betting within the state. The ambiguity lies in whether the bets shown in the trailer were made prior to or following the enactment of this restriction on May 4. Notably, the trailer suggests that the depicted events occurred on July 19, 2026.
In a noteworthy moment, an influencer displays his phone, showing a receipt linked to a sports event contract with Kalshi. He declares, “I put $5,000 on Spain to win the whole thing,” in reference to the coveted tournament’s final. This scene underscores the high stakes and intense anticipation surrounding prediction markets.
A Netflix spokesperson told The Hill that this receipt was a screenshot from a bet placed on the prediction market platform in May 2025 — around a year before this court order.
“The clip misleadingly indicates that the individual is trading sports event contracts while located in Nevada, despite the court order prohibiting such activity,” Dedaj wrote in his letter to Netflix. “However, upon close inspection, the displayed receipt in the Netflix trailer appears to have been entirely fabricated.”
The Netflix spokesperson addressed Kalshi’s claims in their statement, saying that “no footage” in this documentary “was fabricated.”
“Any specific trades or bets referenced during that weekend are between the individual and the app in which they placed the trades,” the company spokesperson said.
Brandon Beckhardt, the marketing lead at Kalshi, criticized the doc as a “sensationalized film built on fiction” in a statement shared with The Hill.
“The preview they just released features a Kalshi trade slip that’s completely fabricated – it looks nothing like our UI,” he said, adding that it appears to be “either photoshopped or AI-generated.”
Beckhardt said that the company flagged their concern to the streaming platform and requested that they take down the trailer.
“They haven’t,” he said. “We expect better from Netflix.”