Kalshi has imposed her first ever lifetime ban, and it’s on someone you may know. The company permanently blocked former Congressman George Santos from its platform and fined him $71,356, according to a document posted on its website.
It was reported in June that Santos was under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for insider trading. Prediction markets like Kalshi allow users to buy contracts or shares on the outcome of events. Participants do not necessarily have to wait for an event to resolve before selling these contracts and cashing out.
Santos reportedly purchased contracts on Kalshi indicating he would not attend this year’s State of the Union address after weather disrupted his travel plans. According to the CFTC, Santos then sold these contracts at a profit after claiming on social media that he would attend. The former congressman allegedly made more than $17,500 from the scheme, which Kalshi allegedly detected and reported to authorities. In July, Santos agreed to pay more than $35,000 to settle CFTC claims against it. The agency also imposed a three-year trading ban on him.
Kalshi, however, does not plan to allow Santos to return to his platform in 2029 (or anytime thereafter). The company confirmed The Wall Street Journal it was the first time he had banned someone for life and this was because Santos had not fully cooperated with his investigation. He can appeal the decision to the CTFC.
“Hey Kalshi, thanks for the lifetime ban on your gaming platform,” Santos, who now describes himself as a television personality and artist, wrote on X. “Let’s see how long you stick around.”
One might suggest that Kalshi gives an example of a high-profile person to show that she takes insider trading seriously. On the other hand, the phrase “play stupid games, win stupid prizes” comes to mind.
This isn’t the first time Santos has found himself in a sticky situation. He pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges in 2024 and was sentenced last year to more than 87 months in prison. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence a few months later.
The CFTC settled another notable insider trading case in Kalshi last week. Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, will pay more than $172,000 to settle allegations that he used inside information to trade contracts related to words or phrases Trump used in his speeches, allegedly earning more than $100,000 in the process. As with Santos, the CFTC imposed a three-year trading ban on Perez.
