Kalshi bans George Santos for life

financeAug 31, 2026372,007

Kalshi permanently banned former U.S. Rep. George Santos after its Compliance Department concluded he likely engaged in insider trading by wagering against his own attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address and then making public statements that influenced the market. Kalshi said Santos placed a series of large bets between Feb. 2 and Feb. 25, made about $17,839 when he did not attend, and was hit with a $71,356 platform penalty; the lifetime ban took effect last Friday. Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana called it the company’s first permanent ban; four other enforcement cases announced the same day resulted only in temporary suspensions because those traders cooperated. The Compliance Department said some of Santos’s public statements were false or misleading and that he was prohibited from trading because he could influence the outcome. Santos previously agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a Commodity Futures Trading Commission inquiry into the trades, and rival platform Polymarket cut ties with him in June. Santos, who was sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty to fraud and identity theft in 2024 and was released after 84 days when President Trump granted clemency, denounced Kalshi on X as "an unserious company" and called the ban "frivolous nonsense." Kalshi also issued temporary three-year bans to other political candidates identified in its enforcement review.

Phil Lewis

@phillewis.bsky.social

NEW YORK (AP) — Online prediction market Kalshi issues a lifetime ban to former New York Rep. George Santos.

82345d ago

Bill Jensen34

I wonder if Santos bet on his ban?

amstermom.bsky.social21

Do Kalshi bettors really think the only person manipulating the market was Santos?

SuaSponte202417

Amazing that a website designed to encourage fixed betting is pretending to have standards about who can fix bets.

Der Fisher11

This would matter more if George hadn't become CEO of Kalshi and Polymarket after his fourth tour of duty in Greenland.

Donny10

Learning he got in the ban book

nl925.bsky.social9

He'll probably just change his identity again and continue to bet.

Quoting this

Jerad Walker52

Absolute legend of the game.

mike taddow14

kalshi doing more than the dnc (idc this is funny)

Grimey11

AND STAY OUT THE WOOLWORTHS

Walter (dead)10

Wow I wish I had placed a Kalshi bet on this happening, it could have made me rich

jane9

it’s wild to admit that george santos outsmarted you but they did it anyways

Casey Seiler9

Does this mean he can't be in the Kalshi Hall of Fame?

Boodreaux's Fjords7

Interesting Because of the online prediction market soul suckers, I'm now banned from talking about my work

Fagatha Harkness5

Truly what do you have to do to get The Scam Company™ to cut you off from Scams??

J.D.4

That's a decent first step. Next should be issuing a lifetime ban to Kalshi

Rob3

Now ban the app. Because half the people on there are doing the same thing.

kamimagic

@kamimagic.bsky.social

Linda Buckhout (R, NC-1) was caught betting on her congressional campaign and vanned from Kalshi. Kalshi, as part of a national investigation found multiple politicians were betting on races they were involved in, including former Congressman George Santos. #ProudBlue #GTS 📹: sawyer_hackett

15545d ago

M. Theodore5

Predictive gambling needs ro be banned. Another exanple of how fucked up America is.

Sheryl with an S4

I read George Santos was band for betting on himself! On whether he would attend the SOTU.

iwanttobecanadian.bsky.social3

Fuck her! Stupid fucking cunt. Refucklican bitch is gonna lose bigly!

Defund. Impeach. Prosecute.2

Hold on a moment. Betting that they're most likely to lose is a glimmer of self-awareness we should encourage. Wagering on your campaign outcome should be automatically disqualifying. By being disqualified, they would lose (their campaign) but win a small amount of $. "We the People" win big!

bridgetblueeyes.bsky.social2

Banned from a betting website- what kind of human garbage are you?? Wait until Grindrr has to ban them.

🔬godhatesyeast🔬1

kill all prediction markets now

NY Times Pitchbot

@nytpitchbot.bsky.social

In this Ohio diner, Kalshi still means that fancy cereal that hippies eat. But they do know this: George Santos has a Constitutional right to place bets in prediction markets.

23645d ago

Pitchbot Reply Guy5

Is Kalshi the new face of woke cancel culture for banning George Santos for life?

st-clabbert.bsky.social1

Fare thee well, sweet Prince. Thy star will shine in my heart for evermore ❤️.

Fodder6501

What did he make in the bet this post was going up?

Hoodlum 🇺🇸

@nothoodlum.bsky.social

George Santos has been banned for life from Kalshi. He remarked, “I’ve been thrown out of better places, so has Kitara Ravache.” www.npr.org/2026/08/31/g...

17545d ago

wwhyyte.bsky.social3

Hell, he might as well ask if he can help Natalie with various clean-up details.

Erinn3

Oh shizz I see a new account name on Kalshi!

🌱VeganAgainstFashizm🌱2

I think Kitara would’ve been the bettter Congresswoman 😔

bebeblew.bsky.social1

Has he been slapped yet with something other than a ban?

John Grunder1

Not sure Congress or the GOP are better places... Kalshi probably has higher ethics... 🫤

David1

Lol. I think Kalshi should be shut down. cbwrong.blogspot.com/2026/08/comm...

Karly Kingsley

@karlykingsley.bsky.social

George Santos was sentenced to 7 years for fraud and identity theft. At sentencing, the judge asked, “Where is your remorse?” Trump gave him a second chance. Now, with this Kalshi insider trading mess, Santos is showing he’s the same person he was all along. MAGA never cares.

10945d ago

Film Fluent2

Once a grifter, always a grifter.

Paul Langer2

MAGA doesn't care who you are or what you've done as long as you hate the same people they do

📎 🧷 Hertz Toopee 🇨🇦 Will Not Obey In Advance2

I hear a Secretary of the Army job is opening up. Santos is stupid, venal, obsequious and larcenous. He would be perfect in that role.

Netty Bo Betty1

Why should they care when the punishment never fits the crime.

Kate Knibbs

@knibbs.bsky.social

kalshi says legal action coming if Santos doesn't pay its $71K fine: www.wired.com/story/george...

7045d ago

Raphael Savir4

Can we place bets on whether he pays fine?

blingofthehill.bsky.social3

We're going to recreate the SEC from first principles for gambling.

Michael Metivier3

This guy absolutely loves to crime. He can’t get enough!

William Gunn1

Kalshi reinventing the SEC, Elon reinventing content moderation, all without a trace of self-awareness.

Quoting this

Land of 10,000 Takes8

Imagine the kind of shit you gotta get up to to get banned from The Unethical Gambling Machine

Expatriot3

Oh sure. Pick on the drag queen

Sean GMC3

I predict that won't work

Karl Kuszaj2

What would you expect from someone who defrauded campaign donors, filed false campaign disclosures, misused campaign funds for personal benefit, and fraudulently collected COVID-era unemployment benefits? His entire resume was one lie after another. I'm not the least bit surprised.

NBC News

@nbcnews.com

Kalshi hits former U.S. Rep. George Santos with its first ever lifetime ban for betting against his own announced plans to attend President Trump’s State of the Union address.

4245d ago

Darwin Brandis2

Prediction markets are a cancer.

Antwan Crump1

The lesson here is "Never bet on yourself..." The optimists are in shambles.

Shawty HuckaTritt1

So everyone is supposed to pretend they are policing themselves because they banned this boob?

KittyKatGirl😻🙏💞🐞

@mary1kathy.bsky.social

Santos is first person to be banned from the platform for cheating. A politician outdoing Trump on cheating?! Ol’ George could become MAGAs next Savior!!! www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/b...

2445d ago

Arieh Kovler

@ariehkovler.com

I can't believe I'm defending George Santos here, but if you're going to have a website where people can bet on "Will George Santos go to the State of The Union", you're basically asking for George Santos to place a bet.

3945d ago

Erin Fogg says Free Link

@criminalerin.bsky.social

She got a 3 year ban but this messy bitch who lives for drama got life

3845d ago

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy

@profciara.bsky.social

Not many people can say they were kicked out of Congress & Kalshi. #Santos 🙄

2845d ago

Scott Horton

@robertscotthorton.bsky.social

Prediction market operator Kalshi said it banned former Rep George Santos (R-NY, aka Anthony Devolder, aka Kitara Revache) for life after a US regulator accused him of manipulating a contract on whether he would attend the annual State of the Union address. Santos placed bets in Feb and made public

2345d ago

Quoting this

Dave Czaja12

Santos is an out of control psychopath. He might be the goofiest psychopath in history but he is, indeed, a psychopath.

acabylon bee

@acabylonbee.bsky.social

can you bet on who kalshi will ban from the platform next

2845d ago

Honda Percepción

@kbuts.bsky.social

how bad do you have to be to catch a lifetime kalshi ban

2245d ago

Lee West

@whodat35.bsky.social

George Santos, the former House member who was expelled from Congress for ethics violations while facing a federal indictment, has been banned for life from the prediction market platform Kalshi, according to the company. www.cnn.com/2026/08/31/p...

1545d ago