Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has become a shareholder in Kalshi, a major prediction market with a wide array of sports trading opportunities.
Antetokounmpo announced the partnership Friday.
Kalshi said Antetokounmpo is the first basketball star to join the company as a shareholder. The partnership includes help with live events and marketing.
“Giannis is a legend,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a release. “He’s exactly the type of long-term partner we want to align our growing brand with, and we couldn’t be happier he’s on board.”
According to Kalshi’s release, Antetokounmpo will be forbidden from trading on markets related to the NBA. Messages were left Friday seeking further details from Kalshi and comment from the NBA.
“I love the Kalshi markets and have been checking them often recently,” Antetokounmpo said in the company’s release. “I like to win. It’s clear to me Kalshi is going to be a winner and I’m excited to be getting involved.”
The 31-year-old Antetokounmpo also is part of the ownership group for baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC.
Prediction markets provide an opportunity to trade — or wager — on the result of future events. They rose to prominence in politics, but the array of typically yes-or-no questions includes everything from the weather to the Oscar for best picture.
The markets are comprised of event contracts, with the prices connected to what traders are willing to pay, which theoretically indicates the perceived probability of an event occurring. The buy-in for each contract ranges from $0 to $1 each, reflecting a 0% to 100% chance of what traders think could happen.
