Kalshi Bans Santos for Life After Settlement

Kalshi has issued its first-ever lifetime ban on former Rep. George Santos for trading on markets tied to his own attendance at the State of the Union and for making statements intended to influence those markets. The platform fined Santos about $71,356 and barred him from direct or indirect access, citing his lack of cooperation with Kalshi’s internal investigation. This action follows a separate CFTC settlement in which Santos paid $35,000 without admitting wrongdoing, after regulators said his trades and public statements manipulated event prices. Santos had publicly announced plans to attend the State of the Union, then reportedly benefited from counter-bets when his plans changed, prompting Kalshi to freeze accounts and pursue penalties. The case underscores rising regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets and insider-trading concerns surrounding Santos, who was expelled from Congress amid misconduct allegations.