Kalshi users betting on what President Donald Trump would say during his speeches were reportedly up against tough competition: the president’s teleprompter operator.
ABC News reports that federal investigators believe Gabriel Perez — Trump’s teleprompter operator since 2016 — used inside information to make bets on Kalshi, a major prediction market platform that allows users to bet on just about everything. One category that Kalshi offers is “mentions” markets, in which users try to predict what an individual will say during high-profile events.
Perez is accused of betting on what Trump would say during more than a dozen events, including his February State of the Union address, a Medal of Honor ceremony, and remarks at the World Economic Forum, according to ABC News. In total, Perez reportedly won more than $100,000 on Kalshi. Trump is scheduled to make another speech Thursday night, reportedly focusing on election integrity; Kalshi has multiple markets listed where users are betting on what he will say and how long he will speak for.
“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the [Commodity Futures Trading Commission] after an exchange investigation,” Robert DeNault, head of enforcement at Kalshi, said in an emailed statement to The Verge. “We have charged this individual and have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided evidence we collected, as we do in any referral.”
Kalshi didn’t respond on the record to questions about other bettors who wagered in these markets and whether they’d get their money back. Zach Fulton, a spokesperson for the CFTC, which oversees prediction markets, said the agency couldn’t confirm or deny any investigation.
According to ABC News, the CFTC and Perez have discussed how to settle the case, including Perez giving back his earnings and not making similar trades in the future. Federal prosecutors declined to open a criminal investigation, ABC News reports.
Last month, Kalshi implemented rules that require users to disclose employment information before they can bet on “markets with heightened insider or manipulation risk.”
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