Congressional Candidates Suspended by Kalshi

Prediction market operator Kalshi said it fined and suspended three congressional candidates after determining they placed trades tied to their own election contests. The company described the cases as political insider trading and said the incidents were uncovered through recently introduced safeguards designed to stop candidates from wagering on races in which they are directly involved.

The actions add to growing scrutiny around prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, where users can trade on outcomes tied to elections, policy decisions and other public events. Lawmakers from both major parties have questioned whether current oversight is strong enough to address conflicts of interest and possible market manipulation.

Company Says New Monitoring Systems Detected Trades

Kalshi announced on Wednesday, April 22, that all three individuals were suspended from the platform for five years. Financial penalties ranged from just over $500 to more than $6,200.

The candidates named were Matt Klein, a Democratic state senator running in Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District primary; Ezekiel Enriquez, who ran in the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District; and Mark Moran, who is running as an independent in Virginia after previously seeking a Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Kalshi said the three matters were flagged by newly released controls aimed at blocking political candidates from participating in markets involving their own elections.

“Just like in traditional financial markets, bad actors will try to cheat,” Kalshi said in a statement. “These three cases are an example of how developing proactive engineering solutions can help identify illicit trading activity.”

According to the company, Klein placed a small wager tied to his own Minnesota race. After an internal review, Kalshi said he acknowledged violating exchange rules, paid a fine of $539.85, and accepted a five-year suspension.

The company said Enriquez was identified after attempting to trade on his own Texas primary. Kalshi stated he cooperated with the investigation, agreed that the trade broke platform rules, paid a $784.20 penalty, and accepted the same suspension period.

The third case involved Moran, whom Kalshi said traded in two separate markets connected to his candidacy. One market concerned who would run for office in 2026, while another related directly to the Virginia Senate race after he announced his campaign.

Kalshi said Moran initially acknowledged the violation but later stopped communicating with enforcement staff and did not finalize a settlement. As a result, the company imposed a disciplinary action carrying a $6,229.30 fine and a five-year suspension.

“These cases violate Kalshi’s CFTC-approved exchange rules,” the company said.

Candidates Respond to Allegations

Moran did not deny making the trades and said he intentionally placed a $100 wager on himself to draw attention to the influence prediction markets may have on elections.

“Absolutely, I did do this $100 [bet.] I have no intention of doing this further. This is simply to call attention to the fact that an entire election can be bought.”

He also said public reaction was part of the goal.

“When I piss people off, when I upset people, and when I captivate their attention, that’s when they have to start listening,” he said.

Klein also acknowledged the trade, saying he placed a $50 wager while trying to understand how the markets worked.

“I set up an account and bet $50 of my own funds that I would win the primary,” he wrote in a statement on X, as reported by the Associated Press. “I was informed in March of 2026 that this was a violation of the platform rules. In compliance with their request, I paid a penalty and agreed to be suspended from the platform. That was the only wager I have ever made on a predictions market.”

“This was a mistake, and I apologize.”

Klein has also supported legislation in Minnesota that would prohibit most wagering on predictive markets, including election outcomes. He said he joined that effort after learning more about the industry and before he knew his own trade had violated Kalshi rules.

No immediate public comment was reported from Enriquez.

The incidents come during a period of increased attention on election-related trading. Earlier this year, Kalshi and Polymarket announced updated rules after senators introduced legislation that threatened parts of the prediction market sector.

Large wagers on political outcomes have also raised concerns. In one separate case cited in reports, an anonymous Polymarket trader reportedly made about $400,000 by betting that former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would soon leave office.

Kalshi said more serious violations can be referred to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the U.S. Department of Justice, though it said that did not happen in these three matters.

The company also noted it had opened hundreds of investigations earlier this year related to insider trading concerns and had frozen flagged accounts.