- A White House teleprompter operator has been placed on unpaid leave over alleged insider betting.
- Regulators are investigating claims he made more than £75,000 (about $100,000) by betting on Donald Trump's speeches.
- Kalshi froze the account before the alleged winnings could be withdrawn and alerted federal regulators.
A long-serving White House teleprompter operator has been placed on unpaid administrative leave after allegedly using advance knowledge of President Donald Trump's speeches to place bets that reportedly earned more than £75,000 ($100,000).
Gabriel "Gabe" Perez, who has worked with Trump since his 2016 presidential campaign, is under investigation over claims he placed a series of bets on Kalshi, a prediction market platform where users can wager on real-world events, including the words politicians use in public speeches.
The alleged activity has prompted an investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) after Kalshi identified suspicious betting patterns and referred the matter to regulators. The company also froze Perez's account before any profits could be withdrawn.
Suspicious bets raise insider trading concerns
According to multiple US media reports, Perez placed bets on more than a dozen speeches over a three-month period, including Trump's State of the Union address, a speech at the World Economic Forum, a December primetime address and remarks made during a Medal of Honor ceremony.
The bets were placed on Kalshi's "Mentions" market, where users predict whether a speaker will use particular words, phrases or topics during a speech.
Kalshi reportedly said its analysts noticed unusual trading activity in March. After reviewing account data, the company concluded the account belonged to a federal employee responsible for operating White House teleprompters.
Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, reportedly said the company froze more than £67,000 ($90,000) before it could be withdrawn and passed evidence to the CFTC.
Sources familiar with the investigation reportedly told ABC News that Perez acknowledged some of the trades during interviews with regulators and is discussing a possible settlement. According to the reports, any agreement could require him to surrender the alleged profits and avoid similar trading in future.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan reportedly declined to pursue a criminal case.
Questions over ethics in prediction markets
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Perez had been placed on unpaid leave and would no longer work at the White House. She reportedly said President Trump considered the situation "deeply unfortunate" and "a disgrace".
The CFTC has not confirmed whether a formal investigation is underway, saying it could neither confirm nor deny any inquiry.
Perez was first hired as Trump's teleprompter operator during the 2016 presidential campaign and remained part of the president's team through his first administration before returning for his second term. According to the White House's 2025 report to Congress, he earned an annual salary of £131,000 ($175,000).
The case has also renewed attention on prediction markets such as Kalshi and Polymarket, where people place bets on political events, elections and public appearances. Critics have long argued that these platforms could create opportunities for insider trading, particularly when users have access to non-public information.
Earlier this year, according to reports, the White House reminded staff not to use confidential knowledge of government policy to place bets on prediction markets. Meanwhile, both the House and Senate have advanced measures aimed at tightening restrictions on government-related betting by lawmakers and their staff.
