Prediction market Kalshi announced Monday that it has permanently banned former Rep. George Santos — the first lifetime ban in the company's history — after regulators accused the scandal-plagued Republican of profiting from bets placed on himself.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Santos of posting misleading statements in February about whether he would attend President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, and of earning more than $17,000 by betting on the outcome. A filing on Kalshi's website shows the company's compliance division also imposed a $71,356 penalty.

A company spokeswoman said the ban resulted from Santos's failure to fully cooperate with Kalshi's internal investigation.

Santos has the option to appeal to the CFTC, which settled its own separate case against him in July, when he agreed to pay more than $35,000. The agency said Santos bought contracts betting he would not attend the address after severe weather threatened his travel, then sold them at a profit after social media posts suggested he ultimately planned to be present. The CFTC also banned Santos from trading on any platform for three years, noting that, unlike in his dealings with Kalshi, he had cooperated with its probe.

The former lawmaker responded to the lifetime ban on social media, writing: "Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform. Let's see how much longer you guys are around for." His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison before Trump commuted his sentence last year.

The enforcement action comes as Kalshi faces broader scrutiny over insider trading on prediction markets. Kalshi, which operates federally regulated event contracts — venues where traders buy positions on outcomes ranging from elections to Fed rate decisions — has grown rapidly into mainstream prominence, and with that growth has come increased regulatory attention to how its markets can be manipulated by participants with nonpublic information or direct control over the events being traded. The CFTC recently settled a case against a former White House teleprompter operator accused of betting on nonpublic information, and authorities are reportedly pursuing separate cases involving a U.S. service member and a KPMG employee. How regulators and platforms police participants who can influence the events underlying these contracts is likely to remain a live question as prediction markets attract more high-profile users.

Reactions to the ban drew wide comment. "Kalshi and George Santos deserve each other," said New York Times opinion writer Elizabeth Spiers.

"Low hanging fruit on a very ripe tree," noted Alan Jagolinzer, an accounting professor at the University of Cambridge.

"Grifting so hard you are the only person ever banned from Kalshi?" marveled popular Bluesky user Micah. "Absolutely nobody does it like George Santos."

NPR's Bobby Allyn reported: "George Santos called me after my story revealing federal investigations into his suspected market manipulation on Kalshi. And he said: 'This story is going to get you a gun in your face.' Then he lied about it."

Writer Ben Schwartz observed: "A lifetime ban for betting on his own team — George Santos becomes the Pete Rose of Kalshi."