You can find event contracts on an election, a temperature or an economic release without opening a sports market. The app matters, but the first question is what exact event you want to follow, because two contracts about the same headline can resolve differently.
Kalshi, Robinhood and Interactive Brokers are three routes in. Their catalogs and account rules are not the same.
| Route | Subjects named in its own materials | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Kalshi | Climate and weather, including daily and hourly temperature, precipitation and climate-change markets | The market rules and named settlement source |
| Robinhood event contracts | Sports, politics, weather, commodities and entertainment | Account eligibility and which contracts your state allows |
| Interactive Brokers | Political, economic, finance and climate indicators through Kalshi, CME Group and ForecastEx | Venue-specific fees, eligibility and how positions close |
Sources for the table: Kalshi climate markets, Robinhood’s event contracts overview and Interactive Brokers’ event contracts page. A shared label does not make the three catalogs identical.
Account rules differ
Robinhood says you need an approved Robinhood Derivatives account, which requires an individual brokerage account, US residency and age 18 or older, in a state where event contracts are offered. It adds that Maryland and Nevada residents cannot trade sports contracts, and that Michigan residents cannot open new sports contracts as of September 9, 2026. Interactive Brokers limits event contracts to eligible clients aged 21 or older. Check current eligibility before you open an account.
Choose the event before the app
For weather, identify the measurement. A daily high at a named airport, an hourly reading and a long-run climate indicator answer different questions. Our Kalshi weather settlement guide explains why a general forecast app may show a different number than the contract.
For economic subjects, IBKR’s materials describe contracts on rates and similar indicators. Match the release and the measurement period to the exact event you meant to trade.
Being right is not the same as a good trade
Paying 95 cents for a $1 contract that wins leaves five cents before charges. Losing it costs the 95 cents plus any fees. Knowing the subject does not remove the need to judge the price.
Settlement can also lag the news. Kalshi says some weather markets wait for the official source report, and in rare cases are delayed when preliminary and final figures disagree. A delayed payment should be checked against the contract’s timetable before you treat it as an account failure.
For the routes in detail, see our Interactive Brokers review, our Robinhood combo explainer and our prediction market hub.
Sources linked above, checked November 2, 2026.
