Beyond the 806
Kalshi permanently bans former GOP Rep. George Santos over illegal trading - CNBC
Kalshi permanently banned former Republican Rep.
Santos, who represented New York's 3rd Congressional District from January 2023 until his expulsion from Congress that same year, allegedly made more than $17,000 trading on whether he would show up to the event. That is a pretty specific thing to have insider knowledge about.
For folks in Lubbock who have never heard of Kalshi, it is a prediction market app where users bet real money on whether events will happen. The Santos situation is the first time the platform has permanently removed a user over illegal trading, which signals the company is treating these markets as something closer to a regulated financial product than a casual game.
The ban means Santos cannot return to the platform. The fine of $71,356 exceeds the $17,000 he allegedly pocketed, so he ends up in the red on the whole scheme.
Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 after a House Ethics Committee report detailed a long list of fraud allegations, making him only the sixth member in House history to be expelled.
Common questions
What did George Santos do wrong on Kalshi?
- Santos allegedly used Kalshi, a prediction market app where users bet real money on events, to wager on whether he would personally show up to President Trump's State of the Union address. He reportedly made more than $17,000 trading on that outcome, which is illegal insider trading.
How much was George Santos fined by Kalshi?
- Kalshi fined Santos $71,356 and permanently banned him from the platform. The fine followed his alleged illegal trading on his own attendance at the State of the Union, an event he had unique insider knowledge about since he was the one deciding whether to show up.
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