Prediction market platform Kalshi has suspended three U.S. political candidates for what it calls “political insider trading,” fining them and issuing five-year bans. The candidates—Minnesota’s Matt Klein, Texas’s Ezekiel Enriquez, and Virginia’s Mark Moran—were found to have placed trades, mostly under $100, on contracts tied to their own election races. The actions follow the platform’s rollout of new safeguards designed to prevent such activity, with Kalshi stating that no exceptions are made for low-value bets.
Prediction market platform Kalshi has suspended three U.S. political candidates for betting on their own elections. The platform described these cases as “political insider trading” following new safeguards.
The identified candidates are Minnesota State Senator Matt Klein, Texas Republican Ezekiel Enriquez, and Virginia Democrat Mark Moran. All were found to have traded on contracts related to their candidacies.
Kalshi stated its systems flagged that Klein traded less than $100 on his own race. He cooperated with the investigation and agreed to a settlement including a $539.85 fine and a five-year ban.
Enriquez similarly purchased under $100 in contracts tied to his election. He also cooperated and accepted a $784.20 penalty in addition to a five-year suspension from the platform.
Moran’s case involved multiple trades across two markets, including one placed before he formally announced. Kalshi said Moran initially acknowledged violations but later stopped responding and refused to settle.
He received a higher penalty of $6,229.30, was ordered to return any profits, and was banned for five years. Offering his version of events, Moran said he deliberately placed the bets to test the platform’s response.
Kalshi noted all cases violated its CFTC-approved Rule 5.17(z), which prohibits individuals with influence over an event from trading on it. The platform added, “No matter how small the size of the trade, any trade that is found to have violated our exchange rules will be punished.”
Concerns around insider activity in prediction markets have grown, particularly on rival platform Polymarket. This issue extends beyond the cases recently enforced by Kalshi.
