Kalshi is pledging $3 million to the nonprofit Housing Works in a multi-year partnership aimed at expanding healthcare, job training and community services for New Yorkers, according to the New York Post, which reported the announcement on October 5, 2026. The gift is the largest single-donor donation in the nonprofit's 36-year history, according to Housing Works president Matthew Bernardo.
The donation will center on Housing Works' flagship clinic in East Harlem, the 125th Street Health Center, according to Kalshi. The partnership will let the center serve more patients, support continuity of care for New Yorkers at risk of losing coverage, and expand comprehensive services regardless of patients' ability to pay, according to the same report. The funding will also expand Housing Works' "Ready for Work" vocational and job-training program and turn the nonprofit's neighborhood retail locations into community outreach hubs, according to the report.
"This is the largest charitable gift in Housing Works' history. We are proud that a New York-based company has chosen to invest in New York communities at a moment when the need for healthcare, workforce opportunities, and supportive services continues to grow," Bernardo said in a statement quoted by the Post. Housing Works, launched during the AIDS crisis, provides healthcare, housing and job training to New Yorkers who need it most. Kalshi and Housing Works say more than 500,000 New York City residents lack health insurance, a number expected to surge in the next 18 months, according to the Post.
"We built Kalshi in New York, and this city has given us so much," Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said in a statement quoted by the Post, noting that the company's first office stood next to the Housing Works Bookstore Cafe in SoHo. "These are our neighbors," Mansour added, arguing that the financial capital of the world can both take care of its people and stay competitive.
The announcement lands in the middle of a legal fight. Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James sued Kalshi last month, accusing the federally regulated prediction-market operator of running an illegal gambling business in the Empire State, according to the Post. The suit alleges Kalshi has offered New Yorkers, including those aged 18 to 20, illegal gambling products without a state license, exposing consumers to financial harm while avoiding the taxes and regulatory obligations imposed on licensed sportsbooks, according to the same report.
Kalshi has countered with a fiscal pitch: it has put a proposal before the governor saying the company could raise roughly $10 billion for New York over the next five years, according to the Post. The company argues its proposed tax structure should not mirror the 51 percent tax on online sportsbooks, since prediction markets operate as exchanges that generate revenue through fees rather than profiting when customers lose, according to the report. Kalshi forecasts that capital-gains tax revenue from prediction-market traders would match or exceed the taxes collected from online sportsbooks, according to the report.
Analysis: the donation is doing double duty. It is a genuine corporate-citizenship move, and it is also a classic play from a company fighting a public battle in Albany. Kalshi is suing and being sued, has hired lobbyists in 41 states according to Prediction News citing OpenSecrets data, and is pitching itself as a $10 billion revenue engine, so a record gift to a beloved local charity softens its public image while the legal and tax arguments grind on. The framing from both partners stays firmly on the community work, which suggests Kalshi wants the story to live as philanthropy, not litigation strategy.
What to watch: how the Housing Works partnership rolls out at the 125th Street Health Center, and whether Kalshi extends the playbook to other states where it is fighting gambling-enforcement actions. We will also keep tracking the New York lawsuit against Kalshi and the parallel campaign against Polymarket. Regulatory status can change a venue's availability without notice.