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State of Play’s TL;DR
- The CFTC has fined an ex-White House teleprompter operator $172,000.
- He was suspected of using advance knowledge of presidential speeches to trade on prediction markets.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez agreed to pay $172,000 to settle charges that he used advance knowledge of presidential speeches to trade prediction market contracts.
The CFTC said Perez’s access to confidential government information gave him an edge in contracts tied to whether a president would use specific words or phrases in a speech.
According to the regulator, Perez generated more than $107,500 in profits between December 2025 and February 2026 by trading in what it described as “presidential mention market” contracts. The settlement requires him to disgorge $107,539.02 in gains, pay a $65,000 civil penalty, and accept a three-year trading ban.
The CFTC also said Perez must cease further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. The agency said the reduced penalty reflected a new cooperation policy and Perez’s assistance in the investigation, which it described as “exemplary assistance.”
CFTC points to confidential speech access
The CFTC said Perez misappropriated confidential government information because his White House job gave him access to speeches before they were delivered. Those speeches then allegedly informed his trading decisions in contracts that paid out based on whether certain terms were spoken publicly by the president.
The source article did not identify the specific speeches or contracts at issue. It also did not say whether Perez admitted or denied the allegations as part of the settlement.
The regulator credited Kalshi, the exchange operator tied to the contracts, for helping with the case.
The action comes as prediction markets draw greater scrutiny from US regulators.
Based on reporting by Decrypt.
