Prediction market operator Kalshi has permanently barred former U.S. Rep. George Santos from its platform, the company’s first lifetime ban, after federal regulators accused the ex-lawmaker of profiting more than $17,000 on wagers tied to whether he would attend President Trump’s State of the Union address.

Kalshi also levied a $71,356 compliance penalty, according to a filing posted on its site. A company spokeswoman confirmed the lifetime exclusion is unprecedented for the firm.

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

The New York Republican, expelled from the House in 2023, reached a separate settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in July. He agreed to pay more than $35,000 to resolve allegations that he made misleading social-media statements and omissions that affected the value of his own contracts, and that he traded on an event he could personally influence.

His lawyer, Joseph Murray, said at the time of the CFTC deal that Santos paid to avoid drawn-out, expensive litigation and that the settlement “should not be mistaken for admission of any wrongdoing.” Murray did not immediately comment on Kalshi’s permanent suspension.

Kalshi said the lifetime ban stemmed from Santos’s incomplete cooperation with its internal review. He may appeal the company’s action to the CFTC. The regulator separately barred him from trading on any such platforms for three years and stated in its settlement materials that Santos had cooperated with the agency’s inquiry.

According to the CFTC, in February 2026 Santos posted a series of misleading comments about his plans to attend the speech while simultaneously placing bets on Kalshi. When bad weather threatened his trip to Washington, he allegedly purchased contracts that paid out if he stayed away. He later sold those positions at a profit after social-media posts that implied he would appear, the agency said.

Santos pleaded guilty in 2024 to federal wire-fraud and identity-theft charges after his expulsion. He received a sentence of just over seven years; President Trump commuted that sentence last year.

The growth of prediction markets has raised insider-trading worries in Washington. Kalshi has moved quickly to demonstrate to regulators that it is policing the issue.

On Friday the CFTC announced that Gabriel Perez, a White House teleprompter operator accused of using non-public information, will pay a $65,000 civil penalty and forfeit more than $107,000 in gains. Kalshi suspended him for three years; the CFTC imposed a matching trading ban.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that federal investigators are preparing charges against a U.S. service member suspected of earning more than $1 million on Polymarket wagers linked to military operations. Authorities are also examining a KPMG employee alleged to have bet on whether a public company would exceed consensus quarterly-earnings estimates.