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Prediction market Kalshi is issuing its first lifetime ban, against former Rep. George Santos, for betting on his own attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address.

The Republican ex-congressman and convicted felon made more than $17,800 after he said he would be watching the presidential speech in person, wagered against his own attendance and skipped town, according to federal regulators.

On Monday, Kalshi’s Compliance Department announced it is permanently suspending Mr. Santos, of New York, from direct or indirect access to Kalshi, including a $71,356 penalty. It’s the first time the platform has issued a lifetime ban, a Kalshi spokesperson told The Washington Times.

“Mr. Santos faces additional financial penalties and will be banned permanently from trading on Kalshi given his lack of cooperation” with the compliance department, the spokesperson said in a statement.

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

The action comes as Kalshi is cracking down on people who try to manipulate its platform, including Mr. Trump’s one-time teleprompter operator at the White House and three other former political candidates. 

Lawmakers also are clamoring for a regulatory crackdown on prediction markets following a series of insider-trading scandals.

Kalshi’s rules state that a person capable of influencing the outcome of the event being wagered on cannot bet on it. Despite this, Mr. Santos placed a series of large trades on his attendance at the State of the Union, the Monday notice reads.

After placing his bets, he posted a series of public statements regarding his attendance to influence the market, including false or misleading statements, Kalshi said.

Mr. Santos wrote on social media that he would attend the February address, teasing his appearance and asking followers what he should wear, which drove up the odds of his attendance on the prediction marketplace.

While publicly signaling he would be in the gallery, Mr. Santos secretly placed wagers on Kalshi betting that he would not attend, federal regulators said.

When the speech began, Mr. Santos said travel issues left him stranded at an airport, causing the prediction market odds on his attendance to crash while netting him a profit on his counter-bets.

Source: Read the original article on www.washingtontimes.com