The unholy alliance between the gambling industry and news organizations is growing deeper.
As part of a new sponsorship agreement with the gambling giant DraftKings, local news stations owned by CBS News must air four DraftKings "hits" per day between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3, according to an exclusive report from Status. The deal frustrated some executives, who believed the optics of mixing gambling and news coverage could undermine faith in elections, Status reported. (RELATED: CNN Just Cracked Open Pandora's Box That's Worse Than Any Fake News Hoax)
CBS News is not the first media organization to partner with the gambling industry.
In late 2025, CNN announced a partnership with the prediction market company Kalshi. A day later, CNBC announced a similar deal.
"CNBC will incorporate exclusive Kalshi predictions market data into its programs, including 'Squawk Box' and 'Fast Money,' offering viewers a unique perspective on how event forecasts and probabilities are shifting in real time. A Kalshi ticker will run alongside segments of CNBC's on-air programming. Kalshi will also launch a CNBC page on its site, featuring CNBC-selected markets," the network said.
The Associated Press also partnered with Kalshi in March.
"The Associated Press for nearly two centuries has played an essential role in American democracy as the most authoritative source for accurate results on election night," David Scott, vice president for AP Elections, said. "We're pleased to be working with Kalshi as we work to expand the reach of AP's trusted elections data, meeting audiences where they are with reliable information about who voters have chosen to lead their country and communities." (RELATED: Special Forces Soldier Accused Of Gambling On Maduro Raid Pleads Not Guilty)
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal has struck a deal with Kalshi's competitor, Polymarket.
"We're making prediction markets data accessible to our users, because it's a rapidly growing source of real-time insight into collective beliefs about future events," Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, said. "Our mission is to help people make decisions by offering them reliable news, data and analysis. In partnering with Polymarket, we aim to help consumers better interpret market sentiment and assess risk alongside traditional financial indicators."
Critics argue that because prediction markets allow traders to wager on something as simple as whether a CNN host will say a particular word during a broadcast, the partnership opens up a Pandora's box of ethical concerns. Reporters and broadcasters, for example, could cover a breaking news event in a way that benefits a wager they made on one of the partnering platforms.
A CBS News spokesman told Status that the sponsorship deal is strictly commercial and will have no effect on its editorial decisions or election coverage.
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