Kalshi dishes out its first-ever lifetime ban to George Santos

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Kalshi has handed out its first-ever lifetime ban, and it's to someone you might be familiar with. The company has permanently blocked former congressman George Santos from accessing its platform and imposed a penalty of $71,356, according to a filing on its website. It was reported in June that Santos was under investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over insider trading. Prediction markets like Kalshi allow users to buy contracts or shares in the outcome of events. Participants don't necessarily have to wait for an event to resolve before selling these contracts and cashing in. Santos allegedly bought contracts on Kalshi indicating that he would not attend this year's State of the Union speech after weather disrupted his travel plans. According to the CFTC, Santos then sold those contracts for a profit after claiming on social media that he would be in attendance. The former congressman is said to have made more than $17,500 through this scheme, which Kalshi reportedly detected and flagged to authorities. In July, Santos agreed to pay over $35,000 to settle the CFTC's claims against him. The agency also issued him a three-year trading ban. Kalshi, however, doesn't plan to allow Santos back on its platform in 2029 (or anytime after that). The company confirmed to The Wall Street Journal this was the first time it had given anyone a lifetime ban and that it did so because Santos didn't fully cooperate with its investigation. He can appeal the decision to the CTFC. "Hey Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform," Santos, who now describes himself as a TV personality and entertainer, wrote on X. "Let's see how much longer you guys are around for." One might suggest Kalshi is making an example of a high-profile individual to show that it's taking insider trading seriously. On the other hand, the idiom "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" springs to mind. It's hardly the first time that Santos has been in hot water. He pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges in 2024 and was last year sentenced to over 87 months in prison. President Donald Trump commuted the sentence a few months later. The CFTC settled another notable Kalshi insider trading case last week. Gabriel Perez, a former White House teleprompter operator, will pay over $172,000 to settle claims that he used insider information to trade contracts related to words or phrases that Trump used in his speeches, allegedly making over $100,000 in the process. As with Santos, the CFTC handed Perez a three-year trading ban.