Kalshi, CEO Donated $12K to Texas AG Ken Paxton Amid Prediction Market Scrutiny

According to Politico, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has received donations totaling $12,000 from Kalshi and the company's CEO, Tarek Mansour.

This comes after Paxton pushed for enforcement of gambling laws in the state as it pertained to gaming machines and fantasy sports. 

Earlier this year, a group of AGs from around the country, both Republican and Democratic, came together to push back against Kalshi and prediction markets, and Paxton wasn't among them, per Politico. 

Kalshi and Kalshi CEO Donated $12K to Paxton

As for the donations, Politico said that the Kalshi donation ($5,000) came in May 2025 and was sent to Paxton’s Lone Star Liberty PAC. One month later, Mansour donated $7,000, according to FEC records. 

Days after these donations, 34 attorneys general asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to allow states to regulate Kalshi. He wasn't part of that effort. He also declined to join an amicus brief filed by 38 states and Washington, D.C., in a case between Kalshi and Maryland. 

Considering Paxton's past with gambling and fantasy, this didn't line up, since Texas is still one of the few states without legal sports betting. 

Paxton Stayed Out of Multistate Prediction Market Challenges

President Donald Trump is an advocate of prediction markets, and Paxton is an ally of his, as Trump endorsed him over Sen. John Cornyn. 

This also goes against Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, who, in March, urged the state Senate to "look for ways to close loopholes in state laws that let prediction markets operate in the state," Politico said. 

Politico reached out to Paxton for comment and received no response from the campaign spokesperson or the Texas Attorney General's office.