Robinhood's Election Betting Could Use Some Work

Robinhood's election betting markets could use some work. 

Financial app Robinhood announced last week that it would accept "bets" - futures contracts - on the 2024 Presidential election. But their interface for wagering on Trump vs. Harris odds leaves much to be desired, and the whole process feels needlessly complex.

Robinhood is one of the handful of sites where you can bet on the Presidential election. And while it may be the most popular brand, we find Kalshi is a much better option (sign up for Kalsh here). 

Here's why.

Since election bets are technically "event contracts", to wager on the election on Robinhood you must first opt-in to either "options trading" or "margin trading". This requires you to agree to a series of scary-looking warnings about the risks of doing either.

Robinhood should be commended for issuing these notices, especially since critics have pressed the brand for gamifying risky financial trading, but it makes things way less straightforward than they need to be.

For example, competitor Kalshi, which is also legal and regulated by the CFTC, offers election betting... along with options to wager on a whole host of other real-world events. It is much simpler to use, with clear communication about what you are betting on.

Election markets, for now, are a one-off add-on for Robinhood, which is looking to capitalize on a recent court ruling that allows such wagers to be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Kalshi, meanwhile, has been working at this for six years, and actually brought the case against the CFTC, ironically paving the way for Robinhood to compete.

And it shows.

To wit, here's the betting screen on Robinhood vs. Kalshi:

Kalshi:

Robinhood:

Robinhood only offers trading from 8 AM until 12 AM EST, and warns that it may be hard to trade out of positions after Election Day up until the market closes on January 5.

To be fair, there is plenty of liquidity on Robinhood, which has accepted over $200 million in wagers on the election. But we still find native prediction market apps, like Kalshi, to offer better, ahem, options for betting on the election.

Sign up for Kalshi here and get $20 free when you deposit $100 or more.