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- Kalshi issued a three-year ban and a $2,589.96 fine to Laurie Buckhout for betting on her own campaign.
- Buckhout admitted to the mistake, which was uncovered as part of a broader national probe into political insider trading.
Kalshi has fined North Carolina Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout $2,589.96 and banned her from its prediction market for three years after she bet on her own U.S. House race, according to a report by WRAL published Aug. 31.
The action matters because it shows how a U.S. election prediction market is policing insider-style trading tied to political races. Kalshi told WRAL the case was part of a broader national investigation into politicians betting on contests they were involved in.
Buckhout, the GOP nominee in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, told WRAL she had bet on herself to win and did not know that doing so violated Kalshi’s rules.
“I bet on myself. Literally,” Buckhout said in a written statement to WRAL. She added: “It was a dumb mistake, and as soon as I learned there was an issue, I worked to make it right. Safe to say my career as a Kalshi trader was short-lived.”
Kalshi said Buckhout cooperated with its inquiry and agreed to resolve the matter by accepting its conclusions, paying the penalty, and accepting the trading restriction.
Kalshi says case is part of wider politician-betting probe
According to WRAL, Kalshi said the Buckhout matter was not isolated. The platform said it was part of a national investigation into politicians using the exchange to trade on races they were involved in.
The company also said former U.S. Rep. George Santos was banned for life and fined more than $70,000 as part of the broader probe.
Before Buckhout’s suspension was disclosed, Kalshi spokesperson Sara Lang told WRAL that the company had “robust protection, security, surveillance” aimed at stopping people with inside information from trading on the platform. Lang added that Kalshi monitors activity “24/7 consistently” to keep such users off the exchange.
That enforcement stance is central to the platform’s election-market credibility, particularly as U.S. prediction markets draw more attention around major political races.
Race fallout and what readers should watch next
Buckhout is running against Democratic incumbent Don Davis in a rematch of the 2024 election in North Carolina’s 1st District. Davis won that race with 49.5% of the vote to Buckhout’s 47.8%, according to WRAL.
WRAL reported that Republican lawmakers later redrew the district to be more favorable to Republicans, making the rematch a closely watched contest. As of Monday, Kalshi bettors were giving Davis more than a 60% chance of winning reelection.
Davis called the betting activity “a disqualifying breach of public trust.” The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Buckhout’s conduct showed she could not be trusted “as an ethical representative for North Carolina families.”
What remains unclear is whether any authority beyond Kalshi is reviewing the matter. WRAL’s report did not identify the specific market Buckhout traded, the number of trades involved, or whether any election-law or regulatory agency is conducting a separate investigation.
Source: As reported by Will Doran.
