Prediction market Kalshi added a new feature earlier this fall, allowing users to make "Combo" selections on certain sports, including the NFL and NBA — what you'd describe as a parlay at a traditional sportsbook.
There are two ways to create combos — in an individual game by clicking the "+Combo" button in the top right to add that market as a selection, or through the main sports menu. You can only access this on the mobile app; you won't see it on desktop.
The prices will automatically update on the backend via Kalshi's Request for Quote (RFQ) system, which allows institutional traders and other market makers to take the other side of the combo you want.
In this example — taking the Jets and Patriots to win in NFL Week 15 — a market maker has automatically quoted me at $10 returns $134 in 1-2 seconds, and I can place the trade immediately after that. There's no wait for someone else to find my trade and take the other side.
Can You Trade the Other Sides of Parlays?
Kalshi prides itself on being a true two-way marketplace where you're always trading against another user. But if you're reading this, you probably can't take the "no" side of another user's combo trade. Taking the opposite side of a user combos is available only to institutional traders who are approved and have access to Kalshi's back-end trading setup.
Sportico explains: "The way Kalshi facilitates its recently launched combo bets—through a method called Request for Quote (RFQ)—empowers large institutional funds and other market makers to offer betting lines via back-end infrastructure not accessible in the company’s app."
The prices are comparable to normal sportsbook pricing — some are better, some are worse. But generally, retail users are losing at higher margins on these combo bets.
Can You Make Parlays from the Same Game?
Yes, Kalshi allows combo bets with multiple markets from the same game.
Compared to a normal sportsbook, the available options aren't great — you can only take overs, and there aren't a ton of players listed. They do have alternate stats listed — i.e. I can take Bijan Robinson over 70 yards, or over 100 yards at a better price.
Can Anything Become a Combo Bet?
If you're hoping to cross-trade the 2028 Democratic Presidential nominee with Baker Mayfield over 212 passing yards on Thursday, you're out of luck. Combos are only available for NFL and NBA games right now.
Are Combos Popular at Kalshi?
Volume for these trades continues to grow, with big spikes during NFL Sundays. Combos made up about 7% of trading volume on Kalshi's sports categories — north of $70M in combos on just north of $1B in total trades.
From @datadashboards on Dune Analytics:
