The Teleprompter Bet: Insider Trading in the Oval Office Orbit
Gabriel Pérez, a long-time teleprompter operator for President Donald Trump, has been suspended without pay following revelations that he leveraged his proximity to the commander-in-chief to profit from predictive betting markets. According to ABC News, Pérez utilized insider knowledge of the President’s upcoming speech content to secure more than 100.000 dollars in winnings on Kalshi, a regulated prediction market platform. The incident, which the White House has labeled “shameful,” marks a significant breach of ethics for a staffer who has managed the President’s scrolling text since 2016.
How the Digital Betting Trail Was Unearthed
The scheme unraveled when Kalshi’s compliance team identified suspicious patterns in their “Mentions” markets—where users wager on specific phrases or words appearing in high-profile public addresses. Robert Denault, the chief compliance officer at Kalshi, confirmed on social media that the platform’s surveillance team flagged the irregular activity. The company promptly referred the findings to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which holds regulatory authority over these derivatives.
“We have been collaborating with the regulators on this matter and have provided all evidence collected, just as we do with any case referred to the authorities,” Denault stated. While Kalshi did not explicitly name Pérez in their public statements, the connection to the President’s inner circle triggered an immediate internal audit at the White House. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the suspension on Thursday, maintaining that the administration holds its staff to “extremely strict” ethical standards.
The Ethics of Predictive Markets in Government
Trump’s Financial Footprint and the Crypto Question
The suspension comes as the President himself faces heightened scrutiny regarding his own financial dealings. Recent disclosure filings reveal that Trump realized approximately 1.200 millones de dólares in gains from cryptocurrency-related business ventures in 2025. This includes revenue from World Liberty Financial, a venture that sold “governance tokens,” and the sale of “meme coins” through CIC Digital LLC, which brought in more than 600 millones de dólares.
While the President’s aides have consistently defended these activities, asserting that he remains in full compliance with all relevant laws, the optics of a staffer exploiting the President’s speeches for profit have only intensified the debate. As Leavitt stated earlier this year, the administration deems it “absurd” to suggest that the President is personally profiting from his office, despite the significant growth in his net worth since returning to the White House.
The Regulatory Ripple Effect
As the investigation into the teleprompter operator continues, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the intersection between modern digital betting and the traditional, protected sphere of the presidency. For now, the White House is distancing itself from the fallout, while the regulatory spotlight on Kalshi and other similar platforms continues to burn brighter. What do you think—should there be a blanket ban on government employees using prediction markets, or is this simply a case of an individual breaking existing rules?
