The online prediction platform Kalshi announced on Monday that it has imposed a lifetime ban on former U.S. Representative George Santos. The decision follows an investigation by the company’s Compliance Department, which concluded there was reasonable cause to believe Santos engaged in insider trading related to his own attendance at the State of the Union address. According to Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana, this is the first permanent ban in the history of the company. Those affected by four other new enforcement cases announced Monday would be banned from trading temporarily because they cooperated with the company’s probe.
The investigation determined that Santos, a Republican, held contracts on whether he would attend the event and subsequently turned a profit of $17,839 after he ultimately did not appear. Kalshi’s Compliance Department noted that Santos was prohibited from trading on his own attendance plans because he was in a position to influence the outcome. The company further alleged that he placed significant bets between February 2 and February 25 and then spoke publicly to influence the price of the bets, including making “false or misleading statements.”
The lifetime ban, which went into effect last Friday, prevents Santos from accessing the Kalshi platform either directly or indirectly and includes a $71,356 penalty. On the platform X, Santos dismissed the action as “frivolous nonsense” and referred to Kalshi as “an unserious company,” adding in a separate post: “Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for.” This development follows a $35,000 settlement Santos reached last month with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding the same trades, which also led to the prediction platform Polymarket ending its relationship with him in June. Santos, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2024 for fraud and identity theft before being released after 84 days by President Donald Trump, had previously addressed the market controversy on his podcast, stating, “I guess people lost money. Some people made unexpected money. That’s to show you how fragile these markets are.”
In addition to the action against Santos, Kalshi announced enforcement measures against four other individuals, including North Carolina congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout. Buckhout, a Republican and retired colonel who is running against Democratic Rep. Don Davis, received a three-year ban and a $2,589 fine after the company found she had placed bets of less than $1,000 on her own race. Buckhout acknowledged the action in a statement, calling her decision to bet on herself a “dumb mistake” and noting that she worked to rectify the situation as soon as she was made aware of the issue. “Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived,” she added.
Similar temporary three-year bans were issued to two other failed political candidates: Stephen Cloobeck, a timeshare mogul who briefly sought the California governorship, and Ben Midgley, who competed for the Republican nomination for governor in Maine. Kalshi stated that Cloobeck had purchased $10,000 worth of contracts on his own candidacy, while Midgley admitted to betting less than $1,000 on his campaign. Midgley stated in a statement that he was not aware candidates could not support themselves on the platform, which he viewed as “a novelty and entertainment source.” He noted that he suspended his involvement once he became aware of the policy, had no winnings, and made a donation to charity in accordance with Kalshi’s rules.
