Kalshi and Polymarket lead the Apple App Store amid a surge in election betting

• Kalshi and Polymarket catapulted themselves to become the most downloaded free apps in the Apple App Store on Tuesday.
• Kalshi is the betting market open to US residents, while Polymarket is used by international bettors.
• Kalshi and Polymarket show that Trump was favored to win the Electoral College, while Harris was projected to win the popular vote.

Kalshi and Polymarket rose to the top of the Apple App Store on Tuesday amid a surge in election betting in the final days of the 2024 US presidential campaign.

Kalshi, which is regulated by the CFTC and legal for US residents, took the top spot, while Polymarket, which is only available to international bettors, took second place on Apple's list of the best free apps.

The two betting apps outperformed free downloads of popular smartphone apps such as ChatGPT, TikTok and Instagram.

Kalshi's rise in the Apple App Store rankings was an important goal for the company's CEO Tarek Mansour.

“I think we're aiming for No. 1 in the entire App Store by Election Day, so the demand curve is really exponential,” Mansour told CNBC last month.

More than $4 billion worth of bets were made on Polymarket on various contracts related to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, compared with more than $500 million for Kalshi, according to data from both sites as of Tuesday afternoon.

Polymarket had a significant lead over Kalshi in this election cycle, as a federal judge only granted Kalshi permission to enter into election-related betting contracts for US citizens in early October.

As of 3:11 p.m. ET, betting odds on Kalshi and Polymarket favor former President Donald Trump winning the Electoral College 57% to 43% and 62% to 38%, respectively, and Vice President Kamala Harris winning the popular vote at 76%% to 24% and 72% to 28%.

Meanwhile, the polls remain significantly more tense. The latest Poll average of 538 Harris leads 48% to 46.8% for Trump.