Kalshi, a prediction market platform, has permanently banned former Republican Representative George Santos for placing bets related to his attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address. This disciplinary action is the first lifetime ban the company has ever issued. Santos allegedly made $17,839 from betting on whether he would be present at the event, which Kalshi deemed a violation since he could influence the outcome, making such trades impermissible.

In addition to Santos, Kalshi has penalized and suspended several political candidates accused of wagering on their own races. Among those affected are Ben Midgley, who ran in Maine’s Republican gubernatorial primary; Laurie Buckhout, a Republican congressional nominee; and Stephen Cloobeck, a former California gubernatorial candidate. These moves reflect Kalshi’s efforts to maintain market integrity by restricting bets that pose conflicts of interest.

Kalshi’s compliance team established what it called “reasonable cause” to believe Santos engaged in improper trading by making public statements about his attendance at the State of the Union, likely influencing the market odds. The platform imposed a fine of $71,356 on Santos for this conduct. Santos responded defiantly on social media, challenging Kalshi’s longevity after his ban.

This latest action follows a related settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission two months earlier, where Santos agreed to pay an additional $35,000 over the same incident. Kalshi’s ban represents a more severe consequence in the rapidly evolving space of political wagers and prediction markets as regulators and operators keep tightening rules to prevent insider trading and market manipulation.