A Kalshi bonus code is not the usual sportsbook fiction where a string of letters unlocks a bigger deposit match than the account would have gotten anyway. Kalshi actually runs one, with terms posted at kalshi.com/tc/500 and mechanics documented in its own Help Center — the catch is what that credit is, and how little time there is to spend it.
What the Program Actually Is
New users sign up, complete identity verification the way any CFTC-designated exchange requires, and trade $25 in event contracts within 30 days of opening the account. No minimum deposit is needed to get started. Clear that bar and Kalshi credits a bonus — commonly $25 through Kalshi’s own channel, though the media-partner codes circulating right now (SI60, COVERS60, CBSSPORTS55, GRINDERS, SPORTSLINE, among others) advertise $25 to $60 for the identical trading requirement. Official program terms describe a wider band, up to $500 on a qualifying claim, which is the ceiling for the campaign structure rather than a number any one reader should expect by default.
Why the advertised number moves. Every one of those affiliate codes is a tracked link into the same Kalshi program, not a separate internal offer. Different outlets carry different campaign tiers, so SI60 and CBSSPORTS55 can show different dollar figures for what is, underneath, the same $25 trade-to-unlock structure.
The Seven-Day Clock Nobody Leads With
This is the part most comparison pages bury under the headline number: the bonus arrives as trading credit, not cash, it cannot be withdrawn directly, and Kalshi’s terms expire it seven days after it is granted. Spend it on trades in that window or it disappears. Only the proceeds from using it — not the credit balance itself — ever convert to money that can leave the account.
One Code, One Account, No Stacking
Kalshi’s referral and promo-code terms cap redemption at one offer per account. Enter a code and it is permanently deactivated for that user the moment it is redeemed, whether or not the $25 trading requirement ever gets met — there is no combining a media code with a friend’s referral link, and no second attempt if the first one lapses unused.
To unlock it: KYC-verified account, $25 traded in event contracts within 30 days, no minimum deposit.
What you get: non-cashable trading credit, typically $25–$60 depending on the code, expires 7 days after grant.
Not available in: Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, and Washington, per current tracking — confirm in-app before counting on it.
Not a Sportsbook Bonus, Even Though It Looks Like One
Treat this the way the rest of Kalshi has to be treated: it is a federally regulated exchange, not a sportsbook, and a trading credit is not free money any more than a spread bet is. It only has value if the contracts traded to unlock it were ones worth holding on their own terms. Confirm eligibility in the signup flow for your state before assuming a specific code applies — the promo’s own exclusion list moves independently of Kalshi’s broader legal map.