Three congressional candidates have been accused of wagering on their own election outcomes on the prediction market Kalshi. On Wednesday, Kalshi announced that it fined and suspended these individuals from its platform for five years.
This incident is the latest in a series of high-profile allegations of insider trading involving prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket. These cases have prompted bipartisan scrutiny from Congress and calls for tighter regulations on websites that allow people to bet on a wide range of topics.
Kalshi’s disciplinary documents identified Mark Moran, an independent candidate in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race; Ezekiel Enriquez, who participated in a Texas Republican primary for a U.S. House seat; and Matt Klein, a Democratic state senator vying for a U.S. House seat in Minnesota.
According to Kalshi, Klein and Enriquez each placed bets of under $100 concerning their own candidacies. Moran admitted on social media to placing a $100 wager on himself.
Moran refused to settle with Kalshi and was fined over $6,200, the highest penalty among the three. Klein and Enriquez reached agreements and were fined over $530 and $780, respectively. All three have been suspended from Kalshi for five years. These agreements were made with the company and not with a governmental or law enforcement entity.
Instead of refuting the allegations, Moran took to social media on Wednesday to explain that he placed the bets to highlight the issue.
“We live in a Country destroyed by vice, which Kalshi directly contribute to,” Moran wrote on X, indicating that his aim was to “highlight how this company is destroying young men.”
Klein also acknowledged Kalshi’s findings on social media on Wednesday. He stated on X that his $50 bet in October was his first experience with a prediction market and that he was “curious about how it worked.”
“This was a mistake and I apologize,” he wrote, noting that the experience underscored the need for more regulation in this area.
Enriquez, also known as Zeke, lost his bid for the House in early March, securing less than two percent of the vote. Attempts to contact Enriquez for comments were unsuccessful.
