Trump Teleprompter Operator Fined $172K for Kalshi Bets

Former Donald Trump teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has been ordered to pay more than $172,000 for using non-public information to place bets on Kalshi, following a ruling by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a report by SportClan.

Perez worked as a technical advisor to Trump and typically received the text of his speeches approximately one hour before delivery. He used that advance access to place bets on Kalshi predicting whether the president would say specific words or phrases during his remarks. In total, Perez participated in 14 markets and purchased 43 contracts, of which 39 proved profitable, earning him $107,539.

The CFTC ordered Perez to return all profits earned and pay an additional $65,000 penalty, along with a three-year ban from trading on any CFTC-regulated platform. His penalty was reduced by 40% in exchange for cooperation with the investigation, during which Perez voluntarily provided testimony, submitted supporting documents, and admitted that he made his betting decisions after reviewing the text of Trump's speeches in advance.

The case illustrates growing regulatory scrutiny of prediction markets as insider trading concerns, previously associated mainly with traditional financial markets, extend into platforms like Kalshi where advance knowledge of real-world events can create similarly exploitable informational advantages.