The Kalshi promo code you type at sign-up now decides how much you get. Every code asks for the same thing, a $10 deposit and $25 in trades. The credit is not the same everywhere: on September 27, 2026 the pages that publish the codes listed a fixed $60 for SI60 and COVERS60, a fixed $55 for CBSSPORTS55, and up to $55 for FOXSPORTS55. The summer's $15-to-$500 draw is gone from all four, and Sports Illustrated calls it Kalshi's previous promotion, but a new randomized draw with a $2,000 ceiling has surfaced at other outlets. Here is what each code listed, for the same deposit and the same trades.
| Code | Publisher | Bonus listed | Window to trade $25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SI60 | Sports Illustrated | $60 | 30 days |
| COVERS60 | Covers | $60 | Not stated |
| CBSSPORTS55 | CBS Sports | $55 | 30 days |
| FOXSPORTS55 | FOX Sports | Up to $55 | Not stated |
Amounts checked September 27, 2026 on each publisher's page. Kalshi's own terms pages would not load for us that day, so confirm the figure on Kalshi's registration screen before you deposit. OddsShopper has no Kalshi code and earns nothing from this table. The figures on this page are publisher-listed offer amounts and model estimates, not predictions of fact and not financial advice.
What Moved Since September 23
FOX Sports is the one line in the table that changed. This page last moved on September 23, and its figures were last checked on September 20, when FOX's page carried FOXSPORTS at up to $25. The version FOX published on September 27 carries FOXSPORTS55 at up to $55 for the same deposit and the same trades. That is a $30 jump in the ceiling, and the "up to" stayed, so FOX still does not promise the full amount the way SI60, COVERS60 and CBSSPORTS55 do. Covers and CBS Sports re-dated their pages on the morning of September 27 with the same figures they listed a week earlier, and Sports Illustrated's page is stamped a day ahead, September 28, on the same $60.
The draw is back, under bigger numbers. Codes at Mile High Sports, Elite Sports NY and Goal.com now list a bonus of up to $2,000 after the same $25 in trades, paid as one of $10, $25, $50, $100 or $2,000, with no odds published for any tier. Most people who take one will get considerably less than the maximum, starting as low as $10 or $25, in Sports Illustrated's reading, and Covers says many will receive less than $25, which on that tier list means the $10 draw. A flat $25 also still exists at RotoGrinders and SportsLine. So the spread between codes has widened: a fixed $60 at the top against a possible $10 at the bottom, for identical deposits and identical trades. The rest of this page stands, with the numbers below re-checked on September 27.
Which Kalshi Promo Code Pays The Most
SI60 and COVERS60, at $60. CBSSPORTS55 is $5 behind. FOXSPORTS55 asks for the same deposit and the same $25 traded and lists up to $55, so its ceiling is $5 behind the leaders and its floor is not stated; its terms link points to a Kalshi rules page that would not load for us, so treat the "up to" as a maximum, not a promise. The up-to-$2,000 codes are not on that list because they promise nothing: with no tier odds published, you would be trading a known $60 for an unpriced draw whose floor is $10.
Kalshi is a regulated exchange, not a sportsbook, so a "promo code" is really an affiliate tag. Under the old draw the letters did not matter, because every code fed the same $15 to $500 lottery. That has flipped: the listed amount now travels with the code, so two people who deposit $10 and trade $25 can finish $50 apart, $60 on SI60 against a $10 draw on one of the randomized codes. Check the number attached to a code before you enter it, and confirm it on the registration screen.
How To Claim The Kalshi Welcome Offer
Five steps, and the fourth one is where the credit most often gets lost.
| Step | What it takes |
|---|---|
| 1. Eligibility | New Kalshi users only, in a state where Kalshi operates |
| 2. Enter A Code | At registration. A promo code or a referral link, not both; the code sets the amount |
| 3. Deposit | At least $10 |
| 4. Trade | At least $25. Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports list 30 days from registering |
| 5. Credit Posts | Win or lose, once the $25 in trades is met |
Two details decide whether the credit lands. The $25 is a trading requirement, not a second deposit, so $10 sitting in the account triggers nothing. Sports Illustrated words it as settled trades, so a contract that resolves in February may not count in time; markets that settle inside your 30-day window are the safe way to clear it. A simple mix works: a few contracts at 60 cents, a few at 30, some at 55 and 78, rounded out at 25 and 12, about $25 in total. The outcome of those trades does not matter for the bonus.
Then the second clock starts. Whatever your code carries, $55, $60 or a randomized draw, must be traded through on Kalshi's Predictions product within seven days of posting or it is forfeited. Nothing forces you to qualify fast, so finish the $25 in a week when you plan to keep trading, not the week you fund and walk away.
What The Credit Is Actually Worth
Less than the number on the code, for three reasons.
- It Is Trading Credit, Not Cash. The credit itself cannot be withdrawn or transferred, only profits made with it can be, it works only on the Predictions product, and it expires seven days after it lands. Closer to a use-it-or-lose-it stake than to money in your pocket, and a different instrument from a sportsbook free bet, which we break down in Kalshi versus a sportsbook.
- Fees Eat A Little Of It. Kalshi's trading fees scale with the contract price and reach $1.75 per 100 contracts on 50-cent markets, so the credit buys slightly less action than its face value.
- CBS Sports Adds A Withdrawal Step. Its terms say profits made with the bonus can be withdrawn only after you have traded an amount equal to the bonus.
Against the old draw the new codes still come out ahead. Sports Illustrated published that draw's distribution: $15 to 70% of qualifiers, $35 to 24%, $75 to 5%, $100 to 0.65% and $500 to 0.35%, an average of $25.05. A $25 code matches that average; a $60 code pays more than 94 of every 100 qualifiers drew. What disappeared is the 0.35% shot at $500. Those percentages describe the old draw only. Sports Illustrated's own caveat, next to that table: "These percentages do not apply to Kalshi's new up-to-$2,000 promotion unless Kalshi publishes the same distribution." It has not.
Check Your State Before You Deposit
A bonus is worth nothing if you cannot register, and the promo pages skip this. Kalshi operates nationally as a CFTC-regulated exchange, but its sports contracts are restricted or contested in a growing list of states. Michigan's sports boards are dark under a state court injunction signed September 1, Utah may enforce its order while Kalshi's appeal runs, and the New York Attorney General sued Kalshi on July 31. Three federal appeals courts have now ruled on whether the contracts are gambling and they disagree, the Sixth Circuit siding with Ohio and Tennessee on September 25 after the Third Circuit sided with Kalshi and the Ninth with Nevada, and a petition sits before the Supreme Court, so the list moves month to month.
Confirm your state on Kalshi's registration screen before you count on any credit. The map is on our Kalshi legality page, and the fuller picture is in whether Kalshi is legit.
Promo Code Or Referral Link, Not Both
Kalshi's referral program is separate from the welcome offer. Our August 13, 2026 check found a personal referral link worth $25 per successful referral once your own account had $100 in settled trades. Kalshi's referral FAQ, updated August 25, 2026, no longer lists a flat figure: the reward "depends on the program that applies to your account" and shows under Menu, then Referrals, in the app. It runs alongside the welcome offer, but a new account uses either a promo code or someone's referral link at registration, never both.
Two Other Exchange Bonuses
Kalshi's best listed code pays $60 after $25 traded. The two exchanges OddsShopper works with run new-user offers of their own, both price sports in cents the same way Kalshi does, and claiming one does not use up the Kalshi offer.
Polymarket US, code OS3: deposit $10, get a $50 trading bonus. Polymarket US is the CFTC-regulated exchange whose prices sit next to Kalshi's on every board on this site. Sign up with code OS3 and the $50 posts as trading credit after your first deposit; 18+, availability varies by state.
ProphetX, code ODDS2: Trade $50, Get $75.ProphetX is a peer-to-peer sports exchange with prices shown as percentages, the same scale as the cents on this page, and no house line. Trade $50, Get $75 with code ODDS2; 18+, availability varies by state.
18+ Only. Restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Not available in all jurisdictions. Trading is risky. 100% loss can occur. See polymarket.com/tos for more information. The Polymarket US App serves as an independent software provider and affiliate of Polymarket US and Polymarket Clearing, the CFTC-regulated exchange and clearing organization. OddsShopper may earn a commission when you sign up through the Polymarket US or ProphetX links on this page.
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