Prediction market Kalshi surveys White House Press Secretary for early bets

According to a report by The Block citing The Wall Street Journal, the prediction market platform Kalshi is investigating several trades that correctly bet on Trump appointing Katie Zacharia as White House Press Secretary before the announcement was made. Trump confirmed the appointment in a post on Truth Social on Friday afternoon, with Zacharia replacing Karoline Leavitt.

At least three bets totaling approximately $173 were placed before the media reported on the candidate, with the market expected to pay out about $9,600 in total after settlement. One bet of about $19 was placed around 10:42 PM (Eastern Time) on Thursday, with an expected payout of $1,896; two other bets of approximately $74 and $80 were placed around 1:41 PM on Friday, with expected payouts of $3,689 and $4,023, respectively.

The report stated that a few days before the news broke, Kalshi traders assigned a probability of about 1% to Zacharia. This investigation comes after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission reached a settlement in August with a former White House teleprompter operator who had traded on markets related to Trump’s speeches on Kalshi.