Kalshi Calls for Netflix to Remove Trailer for ‘Prediction Games’ Documentary
Kalshi, a prediction market platform, issued a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix on Friday, requesting the removal of a trailer for an upcoming documentary. The letter alleges that the trailer includes “defamatory” content, featuring “fabricated documents and misleading statements.”
Titled “Instadocs: The Prediction Games,” the documentary examines the emergence of prediction markets. Netflix describes the film as part of their “Instadoc” series, which focuses on timely documentary storytelling, and it includes interviews with notable figures such as Shayne Coplan, CEO of Polymarket, and Tarek Mansour, CEO of Kalshi.
The trailer highlights a recent gathering in Las Vegas, where individuals who have reportedly earned significant sums—some in the eight-figure range—through prediction markets came together to watch the World Cup final. During the event, one participant expresses his preference for Kalshi, while another showcases what appears to be a $5,000 bet on his mobile device.
Despite this, Kalshi is currently prohibited from operating in Nevada due to a court ruling. In its cease-and-desist communication, the company asserted that the displayed bet is actually a screenshot of a wager placed on May 16, 2025, before the ban took effect. Kalshi contends that the documentary misled viewers into believing that the individual was able to successfully engage in betting on sports event contracts in Nevada on July 19, 2026.
Kalshi further claimed that a conversation occurred recently with a Netflix employee, who had agreed to exclude the receipt from the documentary’s final version, scheduled for release on Sunday, July 26.
“Despite Kalshi presenting evidence to this employee that the assertions in the video were false, Netflix inexplicably declined to remove the receipt from the trailer currently featured on its homepage,” the firm remarked.
While Netflix acknowledges that the screenshot represents a 2025 wager, a spokesperson clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that none of the documentary footage is fabricated.
“The footage was captured at the Winible World Cup Watch Weekend in Las Vegas on July 17, 2026,” the spokesperson explained. “The trader showing the screenshot of his bet on Spain made that wager in May 2025, prior to any court order in Nevada. Any specific trades or bets made during that weekend are strictly between the individual and the application used for trading.”
