Former Republican congressman George Santos has received a first-of-its-kind lifetime ban from the prediction market platform Kalshi, which has also fined him $71,356 for violating its rules around insider trading and market manipulation.
\n\nAccording to the notice of disciplinary action Kalshi posted today, the former politician placed trades in markets related to whether he would attend President Trump’s State of the Union address in February 2026. He then “began making a series of public statements regarding his attendance at the event in an attempt to influence the price” of certain contracts, some of which were “false or misleading,” per the notice.
\n\nThe day before the address, Santos posted, “I'm going to be there for the State of Union in the gallery, guys” on X. During the speech, he sent a follow-up noting that he was actually at an airport watching the address on television. “FML,” he wrote.
\n\nKalshi’s enforcement team flagged the trades, froze Santos’ account, and referred the case to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency that oversees prediction markets. This summer, he settled with the CFTC for $35,000 over these suspicious trades; a little over $17,500 was returning the profit he made, with an additional $17,500…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/