Kalshi Takes 87.8% of Prediction-Market Debit Transactions in Velera Data
The figures appear in Velera's September 2026 Payments Index, released on September 17. The index covers a same-store population of credit unions and represents 3.8 billion card transactions worth $196 billion over the 12 months through August 2026. Velera serves more than 4,000 financial institutions across North America.
The report covers both online gambling and prediction markets. Its prediction-market data runs through August 2026 and breaks debit activity down by platform and generation.
Kalshi Has 87.8% of Transactions, 83.5% of Purchases
Kalshi dominated the platform breakdown, although its lead was larger by transaction count than by purchase value.
The average prediction-market debit purchase across the provider sample was $57.55 during the year-to-date period through August 2026. Kalshi came in below that figure at $54.72.
Its transaction share exceeded its purchase share by 4.3 percentage points. Another way to read the same table: the other three platforms had 12.2% of transactions between them. 15M calculates that Kalshi therefore recorded about 7.2 transactions for every one across the rest of the tracked platforms combined.
Younger Gen Z Accounts for 36.6% of Transactions
The full dataset also gives a more detailed picture of Gen Z activity than the report's headline summary. Older Gen Z users generated 29.8% of prediction-market debit transactions and 31.2% of purchases through August 2026. Younger Gen Z added another 36.6% of transactions, but only 26.9% of purchases.
Combined, the two groups made up 66.4% of transactions and 58.1% of debit purchases.
Younger Gen Z also had the lowest average purchase in the generational table at $42.82. Older Gen Z averaged $60.88. By comparison, the average was $64.83 for younger Millennials and $77.83 for older Millennials.
Gambling Debit Purchases Rise 25.4%
Velera found a separate change in online gambling payments during the same period. Debit gambling transactions were up 21.8% year over year through August 2026, while debit purchases increased 25.4%. In the comparable 2025 period, growth had been 24.6% for transactions and 28.4% for purchases.
Normally, Velera's gambling data weakens during the summer. That pattern was delayed in 2026. Activity held through July as the FIFA World Cup ran from June 11 to July 19, then dropped more clearly in August after the tournament ended.
Prediction-market debit activity also accelerated during the World Cup. Velera's weekly index peaked at more than 700% of its first-week-of-2026 level around the knockout stage. The two busiest days in its daily World Cup data were July 11 and the July 19 final.