Former White House teleprompter operator fined $172,000 for Trump speech bets

A former teleprompter operator for the White House has been ordered to pay $172,000 for wagers placed on President Trump's speeches.

The staff member was discovered to have earned tens of thousands of dollars by betting on the content of the president's addresses.

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An ex-White House teleprompter operator received an order to pay over $172,000 (equivalent to £127,000) after using privileged information to wager on remarks made by US President Donald Trump.

Gabriel Perez was found to have engaged in trading activities on the Kalshi prediction markets platform, which allows bets on real-world events, based on what the president would say in his speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.

The Commodity Futures Treading Commission (CFTC), the regulatory body for Kalshi, stated that Perez must hand over profits amounting to $107,539.02 (£79,452) and incur a civil penalty of $65,000 (£48,000).

The White House has not yet provided any comment. In July, Karoline Leavitt, who was then the press secretary, had indicated that Perez was on unpaid leave and would not resume his position.

Upon announcing the settlement on Friday, the CFTC declared that Perez had "misappropriated" his advance knowledge of Trump's addresses to place wagers, thereby violating his "duty of trust and confidence."

The commission noted that the civil penalty was reduced due to his "exemplary co-operation" during the investigation.

Bobby DeNault, Kalshi's lead lawyer, expressed approval of the decision on X, stating that it didn't matter who someone was; violating their rules or federal law would lead to consequences.

The company previously informed the BBC that its analysts detected unusual betting activity on "mention markets"—contracts where users predict whether a speaker will use specific terms, such as country names, campaign slogans, or particular words—in March.

Kalshi confirmed that it utilized account data to identify the user as a federal employee operating White House teleprompters and subsequently reported the activity to the regulator.

In a statement issued in July, the company emphasized that the remarks of political figures like presidents and Federal Reserve chairs trigger billions of dollars in fluctuations across foreign exchange markets, oil futures, and the stock market.

In the same month, White House Management Office staff sent a letter instructing aides not to place bets on prediction markets, according to administration officials who spoke to CBS News, the BBC's US media partner.

A video showed then-press secretary Karoline Leavitt discussing the investigation into Perez in July.

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