Kalshi bans Santos for life over bets on State of the Union attendance

The prediction market Kalshi is permanently banning former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from its platform for failing to cooperate in an investigation over wagers he placed on this year’s State of the Union .

Kalshi, in filings published Monday, said Santos will face both a lifetime ban and an additional $71,356 financial penalty.

“Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for,” Santos wrote on the social platform X.

Santos placed bets on whether he would attend President Trump’s address in February, while also posting on social media about his potential attendance, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said. He ultimately made more than $17,500.

Santos further accused Kalshi of being an “unserious company” that violates its own notices and deadlines.

“On August 7th they gave us a 30 day notice and today they leaked/ announced once again their frivolous nonsense. Leaking and attention seeking seem to be the M/O of this organization. Pathetic!” he wrote .

A source familiar with the matter told The Hill the notice was for 15 days, not 30.

The Hill reached out to Santos’s attorney for further comment.

The ex-congressman agreed to settle with the CFTC last month. As part of the settlement, Santos agreed to forfeit his winnings, pay an additional $17,500 fine and accept a three-year trading ban.

In the days leading up to the State of the Union in February, Santos posted various times about his plans for the event. After having wagered that he would be attending, the former congressman posted about what he should wear. The price increased, and he exited the market with a profit, according to the CFTC.

But because of bad weather, Santos’s flight to Washington was canceled. While he posted about travel difficulties, he later said in a video that he would be attending.

The former congressman shifted his wager toward him not being in attendance, and his train reservation was canceled.

He did not post about this development but revealed on the day of the address that he was stuck at the airport and would not make it, resulting in nearly $14,400 in gains, according to the CFTC.

Kalshi said it flagged Santos’s trades and referred the matter to the CFTC.

The New York Republican was expelled from Congress in 2023 and convicted of multiple counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. After serving three months in prison, Trump commuted his sentence last October.