Kalshi bans George Santos for life over State of the Union bets
The disciplinary action comes two months after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission settled charges against Santos.
Kalshi, a prediction market company, has permanently banned former Republican Representative George Santos from its platform following allegations of placing bets on his attendance at President Trump's State of the Union address. This marks the first time Kalshi has taken such a severe action against a user. Additionally, the company penalized several other political candidates for allegedly betting on their own electoral races, including Ben Midgely, Laurie Buckhout, and Stephen Cloobeck.
The ban on Santos was based on reasonable cause to believe he had placed bets related to his own presence at the event, which allegedly netted him $17,839. Kalshi fined the disgraced politician $71,356 for his actions. According to Kalshi, Santos was barred from trading in the market due to his ability to influence the outcome, as he made public statements about his attendance to impact the odds.
Santos responded to the news on X, expressing his disappointment with the lifetime ban from Kalshi's betting platform, questioning its longevity. This action follows a separate settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) earlier this year, in which Santos agreed to pay an additional $35,000 for the same behavior.
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