Wrong bet on State of the Union schedule, George Santos gets Kalshi's first lifetime ban

George Santos could have taken a trip that was delayed due to weather in a low-key manner, but he chose to bet on it.

According to an announcement on Kalshi’s website, the former congressman was slapped with the first lifetime ban in the platform’s history and fined $71,356 for alleged insider trading. The incident began earlier this year when Santos' travel plans were hampered by weather, and he immediately bought a contract on Kalshi saying he would not attend this year's State of the Union address. After he announced on social media that he would actually attend, he sold the contract at a profit. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated that Santos made more than $17,500 through this operation.

Kalshi is a prediction market platform that allows users to buy and sell contracts based on the outcome of specific events. Participants do not have to wait for the event to settle and can resell their positions at any time. According to reports, it was Kalshi himself who detected the transaction and reported it to the authorities. In July, Santos agreed to pay more than $35,000 to settle charges brought by the CFTC and was slapped with a three-year trading ban.

Kalshi’s punishment this time was even harsher than that of the CFTC – after the three-year ban expired, Santos still could not access the platform. Kalshi confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that this is the first time the company has issued a lifetime ban on anyone because Santos did not fully cooperate with the investigation. He can still appeal the decision to the CFTC.

Santos' own response was as unimpressed as ever. He wrote on the

This isn't the first time Santos has gotten into trouble. He pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges in 2024 and was sentenced to more than 87 months in prison the following year, before U.S. President Donald Trump commuted his sentence.

The CFTC settled another Kalshi insider trading case just last week. Former White House script reader operator Gabriel Perez was accused of using inside information to place bets on words that might appear in Trump's speeches. He allegedly made more than $100,000. He eventually agreed to pay more than $172,000 to settle and was also sentenced to a three-year trading ban.