Kalshi has suspended and fined three political candidates who made trades on the regulated prediction market service.
Mark Moran, an independent running for U.S. Senate in Virginia, Ezekiel Enriquez, a former Republican congressional candidate in Texas, and Matt Klein, a Democrat state senator from Minnesota running for Congress, were caught making trades, Kalshi said.
Moran made multiple bets on his own candidacy, Kalshi said. Moran initially acknowledged being a candidate and violating the rules before ending all communication with Kalshi, the company said.
He was fined $6,229.30 and given a 5-year suspension from Kalshi.
Enriquez traded on his own election, but he was preemptively blocked, Kalshi said. Enriquez cooperated with the investigation and paid a fine of $784.50 and was suspended for five years, Kalshi said.
Klein had traded a small amount on his own election, Kalshi said. He negotiated a settlement, paying a fine of $539.85 and agreeing to a five-year suspension.
The Minnesotan had previously co-authored a bill that would ban prediction markets in his state.
"Just like in traditional financial markets, bad actors will try to cheat," Bobby DeNault, Kalshi’s head of enforcement and legal counsel, said.
"Regulated exchanges must constantly evolve and adapt their systems to address insider threats," DeNault added.
"These three cases are an example of how developing proactive engineering solutions can help identify illicit trading activity," he said.
In a lengthy statement on social media, Moran said he wanted to caught.
"We live in a country destroyed by vice, which Kalshi directly contributes to," Moran said.
"We can’t afford homes or healthcare and are subjected to gambling away any money we have bc that’s all that’s left in this country that has been asset stripped by corporations," he said in his statement.
Moran said if elected, he will levy a 25% vice tax on Kalshi to pay down the national debt.
"They know they’re f----- and trying to do the same thing the tobacco companies did," Moran said.
Klein said in a statement that he was curious about how Kalshi worked so he placed a $50 bet that he would win.
"I was informed in March of 2026 that this was a violation of the platform rules," Klein said.
"In compliance with their request, I paid a penalty and agreed to be suspended from the platform," Klein added.
"That was the only wager I have ever made on a predictions market," Klein continued. "This was a mistake, and I apologize."
"My experience, like many other Minnesotans, points to the need for clearer rules and regulations for these types of markets," Klein said.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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