Prediction market platform Kalshi permanently bans former US lawmaker George Santos: Here's why

Kalshi, the online prediction market platform, announced on Monday (local time) that it had permanently banned former US Representative George Santos, making it the platform’s first-ever lifetime ban.

Santos, whose campaign was found to contain numerous false claims about his personal and professional history, was expelled from Congress in 2023 while facing a federal fraud investigation.

Why did Kalshi ban George Santos?

According to AP, Santos was banned for placing bets on whether he would attend US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Between 2 February and 25 February, he placed several large bets and later spoke publicly in an attempt to influence their prices, including making "false or misleading statements," the platform said.

Kalshi's compliance department found reasonable cause to believe that Santos had engaged in insider trading and manipulated the betting market. The platform said he made a $17,839 profit after he did not attend the address.

In a statement, the company said, "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."

Apart from barring Santos from “direct or indirect access” to its platform, Kalshi also fined the former lawmaker $71,356, which was several times the $17,839.57 it said he made from his wagers.

The former congressman had repeatedly spoken about his plans to attend the State of the Union, held just four months after Trump granted him clemency in a fraud case that resulted in his expulsion from the US House. On the eve of Trump's speech, the platform put the odds of Santos attending the address at close to 75 per cent.

Santos faced additional penalties because of his "lack of cooperation" with the platform's probe, NBC News reported.

Santos mocks Kalshi's ban

In a post on X on Monday (local time), Santos mocked Kalshi's ban and wrote, "Thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for.”

In a separate post, he called the platform "an unserious company" and labelled the ban "frivolous nonsense."

Kalshi takes action against other political candidates

Commenting on Santos' ban, Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana said it was the first permanent ban in the company's history. She added that those affected by four other new enforcement cases announced Monday would be temporarily banned from trading because they cooperated with Kalshi's probe.

The platform also fined and imposed a three-year ban on North Carolina congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout, a retired colonel and Republican running against Democratic Representative Don Davis. Buckhout described the bets as a “dumb mistake.” The platform also announced separate three-year bans on failed gubernatorial candidates in California and Maine.

The company said Buckhout admitted to placing bets of less than $1,000 on her campaign, AP reported.

In a statement, she said, “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,” and added, “Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived.”