Polymarket, Kalshi Stage Free Grocery Events as NYC Debates Prediction Markets
Beincrypto reports Polymarket and Kalshi staged high-profile grocery giveaways in New York City as Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushes a proposal for city-run, non-profit grocery stores. Polymarket said it signed a lease for a temporary pop-up called "New York's first free grocery store," set to open February 12, and donated $1 million to Food Bank For New York City.
Kalshi held a separate, shorter free grocery event that covered shoppers' bills at a Manhattan supermarket. Neither company said the initiatives were coordinated with City Hall, though the language mirrors Mamdani's campaign proposal to open publicly owned grocery stores in all five boroughs.
The mayor has no direct authority over regulation of prediction markets; oversight sits at the state and federal levels, and the proposal remains at the pilot-concept stage with no finalized timeline.
United States, New York City