TLDR
- Prediction market Kalshi fined and suspended two users for insider trading
- MrBeast editor Artem Kaptur was fined $20,000+ and banned for two years for betting on show outcomes
- Kyle Langford, a former California governor candidate, was fined $2,000+ and banned five years for betting on his own race
- Kalshi has opened 200 investigations into trading violations, with over a dozen active cases
- Both cases were reported to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)
Prediction market platform Kalshi has publicly named and penalized two users for insider trading, marking one of the first public disciplinary actions in the growing prediction market industry.
The company fined Artem Kaptur, a visual effects editor who worked on MrBeast’s reality show “Beast Games,” more than $20,000 and suspended him for two years. Kaptur allegedly placed $4,000 in trades based on information he had access to through his job.
Kalshi said its surveillance systems flagged his trading activity as “near-perfect” and “statistically anomalous.” Other users also reported the unusual wins to the company.
Beast Industries, the company behind MrBeast, confirmed the situation. It said it has “no tolerance for this behavior” and has launched an independent investigation into Kaptur’s actions.
In the second case, Kyle Langford, who ran for California governor in 2025 and is now running for Congress, allegedly bet $200 on his own candidacy. He also promoted the trade on social media.
Kalshi fined Langford more than $2,000, which is ten times the amount he bet, and banned him from the platform for five years. Betting on your own election as a candidate violates Kalshi’s trading rules.
Kalshi reported both cases to the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulator that oversees derivatives and licensed Kalshi as a designated contract market.
Prediction Markets Face Insider Trading Pressure
Kalshi says it has opened 200 investigations into potential rule violations over the past year. More than a dozen of those have become active cases.
Unlike stock markets, prediction markets operate under fewer regulations. Insider trading is illegal in traditional securities markets, but rules in prediction markets are still being written.
The CFTC is currently working on formal rules for the prediction market industry. The agency has roughly 114 enforcement staff to police a global and fast-growing market.
Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour has said the platform uses the same enforcement mechanisms as stock market firms. He also acknowledged that lines around insider trading in prediction markets are not always clear.
Prediction Markets Have Grown Quickly
Companies like Kalshi and Polymarket attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in bets during the 2024 US presidential election. The industry faced tougher scrutiny under the Biden administration but has received a warmer reception under President Trump.
Donald Trump Jr. holds advisory roles at both Kalshi and Polymarket.
Kalshi’s head of enforcement, Bobby DeNault, stated on Wednesday that no financial exchange is immune from bad actors and that the company is committed to finding and deterring them.
Beast Industries said it encouraged Kalshi to be more open about sharing its findings in future cases.
