Betting Platform Hits Ex-Rep. George Santos With Lifetime Ban Over Suspicious Trades, Company’s First Ever
Prediction market Kalshi issued its first-ever lifetime ban Monday against former Republican New York Rep. George Santos over alleged insider bets.
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The lifetime ban is linked to Santos for allegedly placing insider bets on whether he would attend the 2026 State of the Union, according to the Associated Press (AP). Santos made $17,839 in profit from his trading activity after betting that he would not attend the event, and he did not attend.
While Santos appeared to tease his attendance at the 2026 State of the Union, he later posted on X that he was watching the event on an airport TV.
As a result of the ban, Santos will not be able to access the prediction market either directly or indirectly. He also faces a $71,356 penalty, according to the AP.
Santos reacted to the lifetime ban, writing, “Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for,” in an Aug. 31 X post.
“By the way @Kalshi is such an unserious company it violates its own notices and deadlines lol. On August 7th they gave us a 30 day notice and today they leaked/ announced once again their frivolous nonsense.”
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“Leaking and attention seeking seem to be the M/O of this organization. Pathetic!,” he wrote in a subsequent post. (RELATED: George Santos Claims He Made $600k From Cameo, Despises Fame)
In April 2025, Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Santos made false statements to the House of Representatives regarding his income and assets and engaged in credit card fraud, political solicitation, and unemployment insurance schemes between 2020 and 2022.
He was expelled from Congress following a bipartisan vote in December 2023.
Santos served about three months in prison when President Donald Trump announced he had commuted his sentence.
Alongside Santos, Kalshi also issued a penalty against Laurie Buckhout, who is running for Congress as a Republican in North Carolina, ABC News reported.
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