Kalshi permanently suspends George Santos over State of Union market trades

George Santos has been permanently banned from Kalshi and ordered to pay $71,356 following an investigation that found he manipulated contracts related to his attendance at the State of the Union address. The prediction market exchange determined Santos' actions violated Kalshi's rules, including rules against market manipulation and trading on events he could influence.

Santos had made large trades on whether he would attend the event, making public statements about his attendance plans while simultaneously buying contracts tied to the same question. Kalshi found that Santos' statements were intended to manipulate contract prices. The punishment, which took effect on August 28, covered trading activity from February 2 through February 25, 2026.

Santos said in a social media post: "Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let's see how much longer you guys are around for." The incident follows months of scrutiny around Santos' prediction-market activity, including federal authorities investigating trades connected with his Kalshi account.