Kalshi bans ex-congressman George Santos for life after suspicious trades

Kalshi has permanently banned George Santos from its prediction market platform after the former New York lawmaker failed to cooperate with the company's investigation into allegedly unlawful trades he made related to his attendance at the 2026 State of the Union address.

A Kalshi spokesperson said Santos is being banned due to "his lack of cooperation" with its compliance department, which was investigating trades the company said netted him nearly $18,000 in profits. Santos is the first person to receive a lifetime ban, the spokesperson confirmed.

The prediction market also penalized him $71,356, a filing on the company's website shows.

"Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform," Santos wrote on X on Monday. "Let's see how much longer you guys are around for."

Santos represented New York's 3rd District in the House of Representatives before he was expelled in 2023 after being charged with fraud and campaign finance violations.

In July, Santos agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a federal probe into his suspicious trades on Kalshi. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also imposed a three-year trading ban on Santos.

The CFTC alleged that between Feb. 12 and Feb. 25, Santos traded on a contract titled "Who will attend the State of the Union?" and on whether he would attend the event.

Santos could influence the outcome of the event and so was prohibited from placing bets related to the State of the Union, according to a notice posted on Kalshi's website.

However, Santos proceeded to make a series of trades linked to his attendance at the event and to make multiple public statements in an effort to influence the price of the prediction market contract, according to Kalshi.