Former US Rep. George Santos Banned From Kalshi for Life After Betting on Himself

Kalshi is permanently cutting off George Santos after investigating trades that allegedly exploited his ability to influence the outcome of event contracts. Prediction-market exchange Kalshi has permanently banned former US Rep. George Santos from accessing the platform after its Compliance Department found “reasonable cause to believe” that he engaged in insider trading and market manipulation. The lifetime ban, effective August 28, 2026, is the first permanent penalty of its kind imposed by Kalshi on a user. Penalty and Lifetime Ban According to the official compliance document, Santos traded in markets linked to whether he would attend the State of the Union address on February 24, despite being prohibited from trading in those markets because he was capable of influencing the outcome of the underlying event. Kalshi said Santos placed a series of large trades between February 2 and February 25 in contracts whose results depended on his own attendance. The platform said Santos materially benefited from the activity and earned $17,839.57 from the targeted markets. Alongside the permanent suspension of direct and indirect access to the exchange, the Compliance Department has also i...