Former Rep George Santos Gets Lifetime Ban and $71k Fine for Prediction Market Insider Trading

Former New York Republican Congressman George Santos has received the first-ever lifetime ban from prediction market platform Kalshi following a $17,000 wager on Donald Trump. A gambling scandal is now engulfing Washington as regulators tighten their grip on this growing sector.

Kalshi announced the action Monday, barring Santos from its site and imposing a penalty of $71,356 for insider trading. The former lawmaker had bet against his own attendance at the State of the Union address in February 2026 after publicly saying he would show up but then failing to appear. He walked away with $17,839.57 in profit from that specific trade.

The company stated its compliance department found reasonable cause to believe Santos engaged in illicit activity. 'The Compliance Department found that Santos made these statements with the intent to manipulate the price of the Yes or No contracts that he intended to purchase. Ultimately, these statements did in fact manipulate the price of said contracts,' Kalshi wrote in its official statement.

Santos reacted quickly on X Monday. He posted: 'Hey @Kalshi, thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform.' Then came an ominous warning: 'Let's see how much longer you guys are around for.'

This crackdown arrives as prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket face a surge in suspicious trading activity. Regulators and law enforcement are intensifying their scrutiny of the industry, presenting new compliance challenges for everyone involved.

Santos was not alone in facing consequences on Monday. Laurie Buckhout, the Republican nominee for North Carolina's First Congressional District, also faced penalties for improperly trading on her own campaign while violating platform rules. She is being fined just under $2,600 and suspended for three years.

'I bet on myself. Literally. It was a dumb mistake, and as soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right. Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived,' Buckhout told CNN regarding her situation.

Kalshi reported Santos to the US Department of Justice in June after detecting suspicious activity on his account, according to a source speaking to Reuters at the time. The former congressman was expelled from Congress in 2023 over fraud and identity theft. He received a sentence of over seven years in prison for misleading donors and spending campaign money fraudulently. President Trump commuted that sentence after Santos served around three months behind bars.