The San Francisco Giants are taking heat after posting a Kalshi ad from the team’s official X account Wednesday, a move that came only a week after the club announced a partnership with the prediction-market giant.
The post was framed like a highlight package, but it ended with a direct pitch: “A bunt, an intentional walk, and an RBI double in extra innings boosted the #SFGiants win probability from 49% to 77%,” followed by “Download the Kalshi app to trade what’s next,” plus a Giants-specific link to the Kalshi site. It landed in front of the team’s 1.6 million followers and, unlike a standard sponsored post, carried no “ad” or “sponsored” label.
That distinction is a big reason the reaction turned sharp so quickly. Local media and fans bristled at what looked like a baseball clip but functioned as a gambling promotion.
“Major league teams encouraging it’s fanbase to ‘bet live,’” longtime local radio personality Damon Bruce wrote in response to the ad. “There is something so wrong with our sports’ compass.”
The Giants now appear to be only the second MLB team to post a Kalshi ad from an official team account, after the Atlanta Braves did it a month ago. But the Giants are the only club to do so while openly pushing fans toward betting on the team.
The backlash didn’t stop with Bruce. “Sweet look here for the Giants.
V cool,” Mercury News columnist Dieter Kurtenbach wrote. SFGATE Giants columnist Dave Tobener also weighed in, saying, “Remember when I said the Kalshi deal felt slimy?
Exhibit A,” after previously questioning whether the industry was something the team should be “relentlessly” pushing on its fan base, “especially kids.”
Tobener also pointed to the irony of the promotion appearing around a ballpark that honors Willie Mays, noting that Mays was banned from MLB for almost six years for simply taking a job as a casino ambassador after retirement.
The Giants were one of five franchises to announce a partnership with Kalshi last week, the company’s first MLB team deals. The other four were the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox, all likely playoff teams. According to MLB’s release on the Giants’ deal, Kalshi will get “a mix of marketing and brand integration assets, including in-ballpark signage, radio drops, experiential activations, and other promotional opportunities.”
What that release did not mention was a baseball highlight post on the team’s official social account that looked like normal content while doubling as a betting prompt.
The criticism kept rolling in from around the Bay Area sports media scene. Rod Brooks from NBC Sports Bay Area criticized the post, along with Around the Foghorn Giants blogger Jeff Young, USA Today’s Kyle Madson, the official McCovey Chronicles blog account, KNBR’s Jack Loder, KRON-TV sports anchor Ben Ross and Sports Illustrated’s Sean O’Leary.
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