Betting site Kalshi bans George Santos for life after he bets on himself

Santos was a fixture of media headlines and political commentary during his brief stint in Congress.

By Ben Whedon

Published: August 31, 2026 10:13am

Betting site Kalshi imposed its first lifetime ban on former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., after he bet on himself.

Santos, who was previously convicted on a litany of charges and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, was fined by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for placing bets on his attendance at the State of the Union this year.

Santos bet that he would not attend and managed to win about $18,000 dollars. He was fined $35,000 and Kalshi has since imposed a $71,356 penalty, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Santos was a fixture of media headlines and political commentary during his brief stint in Congress. The New York Republican flipped a competitive district in the 2022 midterms and was expelled from the House in late 2023.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.