Kalshi hands out first-ever lifetime ban to former US congressman George Santos

Following allegations of insider trading efforts, Kalshi has enforced its first-ever lifetime ban on former US congressman George Santos, as well as issued a fine of $71,356 according to a disciplinary filing from the operator. 

Kalshi’s compliance team performed its own review of Santos’ alleged activity, finding reasonable cause that the former politician was involved in unlawful trades on the platform. 

Santos allegedly fixed odds on whether he would attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address during February, having placed bets on Kalshi prior to announcing he would be unable to be at the event less than 24 hours prior. 

Kalshi originally referred Santos to the US Department of Justice following his “unusual” activity, but the former politician eventually agreed to a $35,000 settlement with federal investigators to resolve the inquiry in June. 

Santos was removed from the US Congress after being found guilty on charges of fraud and identity theft in 2024, having been sentenced to 87 months in prison by a federal judge in New York. President Trump commuted his sentence in October 2024, however, removing Santos from prison after just 84 days. 

Kalshi also ordered former White House teleprompter Gabriel Perez to pay more than $172,000 on August 31 after using non-public information related to Donald Trump’s speeches to place bets. 

Under a settlement announced by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Perez must surrender $107,539.02 in profits, pay a $65,000 civil penalty and was banned from trading for three years.

Kalshi was also dealt a significant blow when the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled against the operator’s efforts to file an injunction against Nevada regulators, allowing fellow jurisdictions to reference the decision in ongoing legal matters.

As part of a unanimous 3-0 decision, the court determined that the Commodity Exchange Act is unlikely to pre-empt regulations enforced by the Nevada Gaming Commission as applied to sports event contracts.