Prediction market platform Kalshi announced Wednesday that it has suspended three congressional candidates and imposed financial penalties after they were caught trading on their own election campaigns in violation of the platform’s rules.
CNBC reports that the three candidates, running for office in Minnesota, Texas, and Virginia, each received five-year suspensions from the prediction market platform for what Kalshi characterized as “political insider trading” activity. The enforcement actions mark the first major disciplinary measures taken under the company’s newly implemented safeguards designed to prevent candidates from wagering on their own electoral contests.
The sanctioned individuals include Mark Moran, a former Virginia Democratic Senate primary candidate now running as an independent; Matt Klein, a Minnesota state senator running in the Democratic primary for the state’s 2nd Congressional District; and Ezekiel Enriquez of Texas, who ran in the Republican primary for the state’s 21st Congressional District.
According to Kalshi’s statement, all three candidates were identified through the platform’s recently released detection systems specifically created to block political candidates from trading on their own elections. The company issued separate notices of disciplinary action that publicly identified each candidate by name.
Moran’s case proved the most contentious of the three. Kalshi reported that Moran traded in two markets related to his campaign. First, he placed a trade on himself in a market concerning individuals who would run for public office in 2026. After announcing his candidacy for the Democratic primary election for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat, he traded on his own candidacy a second time.
Kalshi claims that when it contacted Moran about the violations, he initially acknowledged being a candidate and breaking the platform’s rules. However, he subsequently ceased communication with the company’s team and repeatedly refused to resolve the matter through settlement. The platform fined Moran $6,229.30 in addition to his suspension.
Responding on social media platform X, Moran defended his actions and outlined his motivations. “I traded $100 on myself, knowing this would happen (also knowing that I wouldn’t be vying for the democratic nomination) and the attention it would create to highlight how this company is destroying young men and as Senator I will go after Kalshi and impose significant penalties on them – 25% – a vice tax – to pay down our national debt,” Moran wrote.
He also criticized Kalshi’s advertising efforts in Washington, D.C. subways, suggesting the company faces regulatory pressure and comparing its tactics to those historically employed by tobacco companies.
Klein and Enriquez both cooperated with Kalshi’s investigations, leading to different outcomes in their cases. Klein had traded a small amount on the outcome of his own election and acknowledged that his activity violated Kalshi’s exchange rules. He agreed to pay a fine of $539.85 and accepted his suspension.
In his statement on X, Klein explained that in October, friends informed him about a prediction market offering wagers on his primary race. “I had never wagered on a predictions market previously,” Klein said. “I was curious about how it worked. I set up an account and bet $50 of my own funds that I would win the primary.”
Klein stated he was informed in March 2026 that this violated platform rules, and he complied with the penalty request. “This was a mistake, and I apologize,” Klein wrote, adding that his experience highlights the need for clearer rules and regulations for prediction markets.
Enriquez traded what Kalshi described as a slightly larger amount than Klein on his own election, though still less than $100. The Texas candidate was fully cooperative with the investigation and agreed to settle by acknowledging the rule violation, paying a fine of $784.20, and accepting his suspension. Enriquez did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more at CNBC here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of AI, free speech, and online censorship.
