Kalshi has suspended Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout for three years after she placed trades tied to her own election, according to a report by The Washington Post. The case centers on Buckhout’s purchases of less than $1,000 in contracts linked to the North Carolina 1st Congressional District race after she announced her candidacy in December last year. Kalshi determined that, as a candidate in the race, Buckhout was a "direct decision maker" with direct influence over the event’s outcome, and treated the activity as insider trading. Under a settlement that took effect last Friday, she is barred from betting on Kalshi for three years and must pay a $2,589.96 fine. Buckhout later called the trade a "stupid mistake" and said her time as a Kalshi trader was very short. The case lands as prediction markets face heavier regulatory scrutiny, and Kalshi’s enforcement action is being viewed as a compliance move on its own platform.
Kalshi has suspended Republican congressional candidate Laurie Buckhout for three years after she bet on her own race, according to The Washington Post.
The report said Buckhout bought less than $1,000 in contracts related to her contest with incumbent Representative Don Davis, a Democrat, after announcing in December last year that she would run in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
Kalshi found that Buckhout, as a candidate in the race, was a "direct decision maker" in the contract and had direct influence over the outcome of the event. On that basis, the platform treated the activity as insider trading.
Under a settlement that took effect last Friday, Buckhout is barred from betting on Kalshi for three years and must pay a $2,589.96 fine.
Buckhout says it was a "stupid mistake"
Buckhout acknowledged the error and said, "This was a stupid mistake. As soon as I realized there was a problem, I tried to correct it. You could say my career as a Kalshi trader was quite short."
Buckhout is a retired Army colonel. She lost to Davis in 2024 and recently served in the Trump administration as assistant secretary for cyber policy at the War Department.
For Kalshi, the case comes as prediction markets are facing close regulatory scrutiny. Its decision to impose a suspension and fine on its own platform is being seen as a self-policing compliance step.
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