Former U.S. Representative George Santos has been permanently banned from prediction market platform Kalshi over trades regulators found to be manipulative, the company confirmed on Monday.
The New York Republican had drawn scrutiny for allegedly wagering on whether he would personally attend this year’s State of the Union address, an outcome he was in a direct position to influence. Betting on one’s own conduct falls outside the bounds Kalshi sets for its event contracts.
Kalshi operates a federally regulated exchange where users buy and sell contracts tied to real-world outcomes, from elections to economic data. Prices move with the perceived probability of an event occurring, and each contract settles once the result is known.
The ban follows Santos’s agreement to resolve a federal probe with a $35,000 payment tied to the same trading activity. That settlement addressed conduct authorities described as manipulative, without the former lawmaker admitting wrongdoing.
Santos represented New York’s third congressional district before his expulsion from the House of Representatives in December 2023, following a fabrication scandal and separate federal fraud charges. He remains among the few members ever removed by a floor vote.
Kalshi has expanded quickly after winning legal clearance to offer contracts on political outcomes, a category once blocked by regulators. That growth has brought new scrutiny of who trades on its markets and on what information.
The company has faced parallel challenges from state authorities questioning whether its contracts amount to unlicensed gambling. Kalshi maintains that its exchange operates lawfully under federal oversight.
The permanent ban closes Santos’s account and bars him from future participation on the platform. Kalshi said the action reflects its rules against trading on events a user can directly affect.