George Santos receives lifetime ban from Kalshi for insider trading on State of the Union attendance

The prediction market platform Kalshi has issued its first-ever lifetime ban to former U.S. Representative George Santos and fined him $71,356 for market manipulation and failing to cooperate with its internal probe. Santos allegedly made over $17,000 betting on his own State of the Union attendance while posting misleading statements online to influence contract prices. Santos, who previously settled a CFTC probe over the trades for $35,000, mocked the ban on X. Kalshi also issued temporary bans to political candidates Laurie Buckhout, Stephen Cloobeck, and Ben Midgley for betting on their own campaigns.

Kalshi lifetime ban

• ▪The prediction market platform Kalshi permanently banned former Republican Representative George Santos on August 31, 2026, marking the first lifetime ban in the company's history.
• ▪George Santos responded to the lifetime ban on the social media platform X by mocking Kalshi, writing, "thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for."

State of the Union bets

• ▪Between February 2 and February 25, 2026, George Santos placed a series of bets on Kalshi regarding whether he would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, earning a profit of $17,839.57.
• ▪The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Kalshi's compliance department found that George Santos made misleading public statements on social media to manipulate the price of contracts related to his attendance before betting he would not attend.

CFTC settlement

• ▪In July 2026, George Santos agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission investigation into his State of the Union bets, which included a three-year trading ban from regulated prediction markets.
• ▪George Santos' attorney, Joseph Murray, stated that the $35,000 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission was agreed upon to avoid expensive litigation and did not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.

Santos non-cooperation penalty

• ▪Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana stated that George Santos actively dodged the company's compliance team during their investigation and faces potential legal action if he does not pay the $71,356 penalty.
• ▪Kalshi's compliance department fined George Santos $71,356 on August 31, 2026, citing his complete lack of cooperation and refusal to participate in the company's internal review process.

Other candidate enforcement cases

• ▪On August 31, 2026, Kalshi announced a $2,589 fine and a three-year trading ban against North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout for placing bets of less than $1,000 on her own campaign.
• ▪Kalshi issued three-year trading bans against former California gubernatorial candidate Stephen Cloobeck and former Maine gubernatorial candidate Ben Midgley for betting on their respective political campaigns.

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