\n Posted on: January 26, 2026, 08:44h.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Last updated on: January 26, 2026, 08:45h.\n <\/p>\n
![\"Avatar](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-50x50.png\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n- \n
- Prediction market operator announces opening of new Washington, DC office<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Former Biden staffer John Bivona will be company\u2019s first head of government relations<\/strong><\/li>\n
- Bivona has nearly two decades experience as a Democrat advisor, strategist<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Prediction market operator Kalshi announced the opening of a new office in Washington, DC and that its federal lobbying efforts will be led by a former member of the Biden Administration.<\/p>\n
![\"Kalshi](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/GettyImages-2247643102-1-858x572.jpg\")
A Kalshi social media ad. The company hired a former Biiden staffer to lead its new DC office. (Image: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n John Bivona, who has nearly two decades of experience in Democrat circles, will be Kalshi\u2019s first head of federal government relations. The hiring comes as prediction market operators are facing increasing scrutiny and criticism the product they\u2019re offering is essentially gambling cloaked in finance<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\n
Bivona has helped elect Democrats at the Presidential, Senate, and House level. In 2018, he served as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Deputy National Political Director, where he advised and recruited candidates during the pivotal 2018 election that remade the House of Representatives,\u201d according to a statement.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Most recently, he started his own advisory and lobbying firm where he worked with large established companies as well as fast-growing startups.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Bivona Hire Likely to Stir Political Speculation<\/h2>\n
In today\u2019s hyper-partisan environment, Kalshi\u2019s hiring of Bivona is could stoke speculation in a variety of ways. For example, there\u2019s already talk in some social media circles that the hiring is Kalshi\u2019s way of saying it expects Democrats to control at least one chamber of Congress following the 2026 midterm elections.<\/p>\n
\nBringing Bivona on board may also dispel the notion that Kalshi is a right-leaning company simply due to the fact that Donald Trump Jr.<\/a> is one of its advisers. Some voices in other corners<\/a> of the gaming world have said President Trump\u2019s regulatory regime overtly favors prediction markets and that when a Democrat reclaims the White House, that party will end. However, that appears to be more opinion than fact.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
To its credit, Kalshi isn\u2019t overtly political. However, staff at some of its Silicon Valley financial backers are Democrat benefactors and Cooley LLP \u2014 Kalshi\u2019s law firm \u2014 directed 92.32%<\/a> of its political donations in the 2024 cycle to Democrats.<\/p>\n
The recently launched Coalition for Prediction Markets<\/a> (CPM), of which Kalshi is a founding member, is playing things down the middle, announcing the hiring of former Democrat and Republican congressmen to leadership roles.<\/p>\n
Kalshi Makes a State Hire, Too<\/h2>\n
Bivona is the headline hire, but the addition of Blake Bee to lead Kalshi\u2019s state-level efforts may be equally as important when considering the bulk of the company\u2019s legal woes<\/a> are with state, not federal regulators.<\/p>\n
\u201cBee joins from Amazon, where he served as a Senior Manager of State and Local Public Policy and led engagement with state attorneys general. Before Amazon, he spent seven years at the National Association of Attorneys General, including as director of its Center for Leadership Development,\u201d according to the statement.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- Former Biden staffer John Bivona will be company\u2019s first head of government relations<\/strong><\/li>\n