Kalshi permanently bans George Santos for insider trading

Kalshi permanently banned former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from its prediction market platform and imposed a penalty of more than $70,000 over allegations of insider trading.

It's the first time Kalshi has issued a lifetime ban from accessing its markets, according to the company. In a disclosure posted to Kalshi's website Monday, the company alleged that Santos failed to cooperate with its investigation into a series of large bets he placed on whether he would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address earlier this year.

"Thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform," Santos said in a post on X. "Let's see how much longer you guys are around for."

Santos' ban was part of a spate of high-profile disciplinary actions dealt out by the company on Monday against politicians. Laurie Buckhout, the Republican candidate in a key congressional district in North Carolina, was also banned for three years and fined over $2,500.

The company alleges that Buckout bet on whether she would win in North Carolina's 1st District, a seat Republicans hope to pick up in November after gerrymandering the battleground district to make it more red.

Buckout, who agreed to Kalshi's settlement offer, called it a "dumb mistake."

"I bet on myself. Literally," she said in a statement. Buckhout added that "as soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right. Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived."

Santos has not admitted to allegations of unlawful trading. An attorney for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In July, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — which regulates prediction markets like Kalshi nationally — said that Santos made around $18,000 by manipulating the market through a series of posts on social media about his plans to attend the State of the Union in February.

Santos agreed to pay back more than $35,000 to settle charges, but did not admit to the CFTC's findings.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket have exploded in popularity in recent years as traders can bet on the outcome of U.S. elections, sporting events and the labor market. But their rapid rise has prompted widespread scrutiny over unregulated gambling.

On Friday, the CFTC alleged that a former White House teleprompter operator made more than $107,000 through trades about what would be in Trump's speeches. Gabriel Perez, the former teleprompter operator, will pay more than $172,000 to settle charges, and is banned from Kalshi for three years.

A nationwide legal battle over whether states can regulate prediction platforms has also ensued. On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that Nevada could regulate prediction markets, contradicting a decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, which said New Jersey cannot regulate Kalshi.

Declan Harty contributed to this report.