‘US markets will blow your mind’: Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath flags ‘pure speculative mania’ as Budget raises STT

As the Union Budget raises the Securities Transaction Tax on derivatives to curb speculation, Zerodha founder and CEO Nithin Kamath on Tuesday pointed to the United States as a far more extreme example of financial gambling.

“If you think the Indian markets are speculative, the US markets will blow your mind,” Kamath wrote on X. “It’s pure speculative mania there – you can bet on literally anything. Options on every asset imaginable, crypto markets 24/7, sports betting, weather derivatives, and political outcomes through platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket.” 

“In a sense, every aspect of American life has been gamified and turned into something you can bet on. This is probably why the govt increased STT?” he asked.

Kamath shared an Axios report titled, “Everything is gambling now: How betting is taking over America.”

The report noted that gambling culture is enveloping American sports, politics, media, and trading, bringing betting out of the shadows and into the mainstream in a way that disturbs some and exhilarates others. “That age-old contemplation has become more realistic than ever with the explosion of online sportsbooks and prediction markets,” the report said. 

According to Axios, Americans can now wager on everything from Sunday’s Super Bowl LX, November’s midterm elections, March’s Oscars, and this winter’s weather. 

The American Gaming Association reportedly projects that $1.7 billion will be legally wagered on the Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

“It seems like everything is gambling now, and the appetite for gambling on the most obscure stuff is pretty bonkers. This is seemingly reaching new levels,” Danny Funt, author of the book ‘Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling,’ told Axios. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in Budget 2026, announced an increase in the STT on Futures and Options trade, stating that the move was aimed at discouraging small investors from speculative trading in derivatives.

In her Budget speech for 2026-27, Sitharaman said the STT on futures contracts will be raised to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent. STT on options premium and exercise of options are proposed to be raised to 0.15 per cent from the present rate of 0.1 per cent and 0.125 per cent, respectively.

Later, speaking to PTI, Sitharaman clarified that the hike was not driven by revenue considerations. Citing a study, she said more than 90 per cent of people entering the F&O market had lost huge money, and the government had kept larger public interest in mind while deciding to raise STT on such trades.

“Like, as they say in Hindi, satta was happening,” Sitharaman said, referring to speculative bets being placed on shares in the F&O segment of equity markets. She added that the finance ministry had been receiving calls from scores of people seeking government intervention to deter small investors from losing money in the F&O segment.