Kalshi probes suspicious bets on new White House press secretary

Kalshi is investigating suspicious bets placed on Katie Zacharia becoming the new White House press secretary, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Friday. The platform is examining wagers that accurately predicted her selection, with bettors potentially earning thousands of dollars. The Journal identified at least three precisely-timed bets using publicly available Kalshi data, including a $19 wager placed Thursday evening that stood to net $1,896, and two bets placed Friday afternoon totaling $154 that were poised to bring in $7,712. A Kalshi spokeswoman declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. The probe follows a pattern of questionable trading on prediction markets, including a US special forces soldier charged in the spring for allegedly using classified information to win over $400,000 on Polymarket. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has also reportedly launched a probe into possible "wash trading" on Kalshi.