Close to half of Kalshi user base experience glitches, delays during Saturday college football games

On Saturday, a significant technical issue affected nearly 50% of Kalshi's user base during crucial college football trading moments. Many users reported they were unable to process orders, leading to frustration among bettors. In a communication to users, obtained by CNBC, Kalshi expressed regret for the inconvenience and assured that they were actively investigating the disruptions. "The Exchange is experiencing temporary delays," the notification stated, noting that balances and positions might not be accurately displayed. One user shared visual evidence with CNBC, showing their inability to access their balance and bets amid the ongoing issues. Despite the widespread complaints, a spokesperson from Kalshi refuted claims of a complete outage, claiming the platform was still functional. They stated, "There were some glitches and delays on our web and app product, which affected less than half of our user base. The engineering team is currently addressing these issues, and the platform should return to normal shortly." Several users took to X (formerly Twitter) to report difficulties accessing the website when attempting to place bets on college football, with some unable to process their open orders. During CNBC's visit to the site, it failed to load for over 20 minutes, displaying only a spinning circle against a green background before eventually becoming accessible again. This technical setback comes just days after Kalshi announced a substantial $300 million Series D funding round, which elevated its valuation to $5 billion—more than double its previous value of $2 billion from June's Series C round. The funding was co-led by renowned firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Sequoia Capital, with contributions from Paradigm and other notable investors including Coinbase Ventures and General Catalyst. Founded in 2018, Kalshi has made a name for itself by allowing users to trade on various real-world events, ranging from sports outcomes to political predictions.