Utah Sen. John Curtis is renewing his push to crack down on government officials using insider information to bet on prediction markets, especially after a White House teleprompter operator made more than $100,000 betting on President Donald Trump’s speeches.
A longtime teleprompter operator for the president is reportedly in the process of settling claims that he made tens of thousands of dollars by placing bets on the prediction market Kalshi about Trump’s speeches, according to ABC News. Those speeches include Trump’s State of the Union address; his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January; and his remarks during a Medal of Honor ceremony in March.
“Our surveillance team promptly flagged and referred these trades to the CFTC, and we are cooperating and assisting regulators,” Kalshi’s lead lawyer, Bobby DeNault, said in a statement.
The investigation took “a few months” after the trading was first flagged, DeNault said. Accounts are typically frozen if they are flagged for suspicious trades.
The operator, Gabriel Perez, has been a technical assistant to the president working on his teleprompters since 2016. He’ll make $175,000 this year in that position, according to White House reports.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that the official has been placed on paid administrative leave and that another operator will administer the teleprompter during Trump’s high-profile address on Thursday evening.
However, there are already several wagers listed on Kalshi such as bets on whether Trump will say the phrase “radical left,” “election,” or “Iran” at least three times. More than $1 million has been wagered on those key phrases and others.
The report prompted lawmakers such as Curtis to renew a push to crack down on insider trading, particularly for those who work in high-profile government positions.
“If only there were a solution …” Curtis wrote in a social media post linking to his bill that would ban government officials from placing bets on prediction markets.
Insider trading on prediction markets has been thrust into the spotlight after reporting earlier this year that a Polymarket trader won $400,000 in January by predicting then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would soon be removed from office. Hours later, Trump announced the successful mission to capture Maduro.
Curtis’ bill would extend the ban to the president, vice president, members of Congress, congressional staffers in both the House and Senate, members of the presidential Cabinet, political appointees and employees of executive agencies.
Anyone found in violation would be fined either $500 or the amount “equal to double the profit made,” whichever is greater.
While there has not been movement to schedule a vote on Curtis’ bill or other legislation banning online betting for government officials, the Senate approved an internal policy in May prohibiting senators and their staffers from using prediction markets. The House is considering a similar policy.
White House officials have separately warned administration staffers from using nonpublic information to place bets on prediction markets, according to ABC News.
Emily Walker contributed to this report.