Kalshi suspends three political candidates for alleged insider trading on prediction market

Prediction market Kalshi has suspended three political candidates and imposed fines for alleged insider trading related to their own campaigns. The company said new rules implemented last month helped identify the violations. The candidates are Mark Moran of Virginia, Matt Klein of Minnesota, and Ezekiel Enriquez of Texas. Kalshi reached settlements with Klein and Enriquez, who cooperated with the platform's investigations. Both face fines of less than $1,000 and suspensions of up to five years. Moran received a five-year suspension and a fine exceeding $6,000. He posted on X that the activity was intended to test whether he would be caught and to highlight concerns about the company. Kalshi implemented the rules to prevent politicians and athletes from placing bets on events they can influence. The suspensions represent the first public enforcement action by the platform against political candidates for insider trading. The action comes as prediction markets face legal challenges from multiple state attorneys general attempting to regulate the sector as gambling. Nevada, Arizona, and New York have cases underway. An appeals court ruled against New Jersey's regulatory effort, and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has filed its own lawsuit seeking sole regulatory authority over prediction markets.