4 minPolitics
Kalshi bans George Santos for life over State of the Union bets
Kalshi permanently banned former Rep. George Santos after finding he traded on his own attendance at the State of the Union address, profiting $17,839. The platform also fined and temporarily banned several political candidates who bet on their own campaigns.
Kalshi, the online prediction market platform, has permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after determining he engaged in insider trading by betting on whether he would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. The company announced the ban Monday, saying its Compliance Department found reasonable cause that Santos profited $17,839 from trading activity tied to his own attendance plans.
The lifetime ban, effective last Friday, prevents Santos from accessing Kalshi directly or indirectly and carries a $71,356 penalty. Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana said it was the first permanent ban in the company's history. The platform also announced four other enforcement cases, imposing temporary bans on individuals who cooperated with the investigation.
Among those penalized is Laurie Buckhout, a Republican and retired colonel running against Democratic Rep. Don Davis in a swing district in northeastern North Carolina. Kalshi levied a $2,589 fine and a three-year ban against Buckhout, who admitted placing bets of less than $1,000 on her own campaign. In a statement, Buckhout called the bets a "dumb mistake" and said she worked to make it right once she learned there was an issue. "Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived," she said.
The company also imposed three-year bans on Stephen Cloobeck, a timeshare mogul who briefly ran for California governor and bought $10,000 worth of contracts on his candidacy, and Ben Midgley, a businessman who briefly competed for the GOP nomination for Maine governor and bet less than $1,000 on his campaign. Midgley said he was not aware candidates could not support themselves on the platform, which he viewed as "a novelty and entertainment source," and suspended his involvement once he learned of the policy.
Santos, a Republican who was expelled from the U.S. House in 2023, had repeatedly discussed his intention to attend the State of the Union address, which came just four months after Trump granted him clemency in a fraud case. On the eve of the speech, Kalshi put the odds of Santos attending at close to 75%. Minutes into the speech, Santos posted on X that he had been waylaid at the airport, prompting accusations on social media that he was running another scheme.
Kalshi's Compliance Department said Santos was prohibited from trading over his attendance plans because he was capable of influencing the outcome. The department added that Santos placed several large bets between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25 on whether he would attend and then spoke publicly to influence the price of the bets, including making "false or misleading statements."
A month ago, Santos agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a federal investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission into the trades. The federal probe prompted rival online prediction platform Polymarket to cut ties with Santos in June. In March, Santos addressed complaints about his attendance on his podcast, saying, "I guess people lost money. Some people made unexpected money. That's to show you how fragile these markets are."
Santos, who won office after inventing a bogus persona as a Wall Street dealmaker, was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft in 2024. After serving just 84 days, he was ordered released by Trump, who called Santos a "rogue" but said he did not deserve a harsh sentence and should get credit for voting Republican.
In response to the ban, Santos called Kalshi "an unserious company" on X, labeling the ban "frivolous nonsense" in one post and adding in another, "thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform," with the remark, "Let's see how much longer you guys are around for." An email seeking comment from Santos was not immediately returned.
