Kalshi permanently bans George Santos over State of the Union speech bets

George Santos has been permanently barred from Kalshi after the prediction market company fined him more than $71,000 for betting on whether he would attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Kalshi said Santos made false statements on social media that benefited his wagers, then did not attend the address. According to Kalshi and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the bets earned him nearly $18,000. The CFTC fined Santos a month earlier over alleged market manipulation connected to the incident.

Santos, who was expelled from the US House of Representatives in 2023, has denied the CFTC’s allegations. His lawyer, Joe Murray, previously said Santos settled to avoid prolonged litigation and “never intended to deceive anyone or manipulate any market.”

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never intended to deceive anyone or manipulate any market

Kalshi also announced penalties and temporary suspensions for three current or former candidates who allegedly bet on their own races. North Carolina Republican congressional nominee Laurie Buckhout called her wagering “a dumb mistake” and received a fine of about $2,600 along with a three-year suspension. Former California and Maine gubernatorial candidates Stephen Cloobeck and Ben Midgley were also penalized, though they could not be reached for comment.

The cases come as election betting grows on Kalshi and rival Polymarket. Experts and data cited by Reuters say the expansion will test prediction markets’ ability to detect and block possible insider trading. Regulators have also fined former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez over alleged wagers involving information about Trump’s speeches.

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a dumb mistake