Kalshi Suspends House Candidate Laurie Buckhout for Betting on Herself
Kalshi suspended North Carolina Republican House candidate Laurie Buckhout for three years after finding she bet on her own congressional race, which violates its rule barring trading by people with direct control or influence over an outcome. She placed less than $1,000 in contracts on her race against Rep. Don Davis, then cooperated with the compliance inquiry and settled with a $2,589.96 penalty. Buckhout said she made “a dumb mistake” and tried to fix it once she learned of the issue. She is at least the fourth candidate Kalshi has penalized for trading on their own contests, following similar suspensions of other candidates earlier in 2026. Kalshi has also recently punished other users for trades tied to nonpublic or influential information, as it tightens safeguards amid heightened scrutiny of prediction markets.
