Culture

Trump Staffer Busted Exploiting Private Intel In Betting Scandal To Fuel Suspicions Of Corruption

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iStockphoto / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Donald Trump staffer involved in betting scandal.


White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has been suspended and put on unpaid leave amid a betting scandal. He reportedly profited $100,000 off bets made on predictive market Kalshi.

Those wagers were tied to Donald Trump speeches of which he had inside intel. Perez has major influence on the final products, and he used it to his benefit.

Of all Trump’s closest aides, sources say Perez typically has the final eyes on nearly all of the president’s prepared remarks — and is often known to take last-minute edits from Trump himself. 

-ACB News

Perez has worked with the administration since 2016. His activity on prediction markets was flagged as suspicious, leading to an investigation. That activity included gambling on speech lengths and specific keywords and phrases.

Betting scandal rocks White House.

Perez is said to have placed bets on more than a dozen Donald Trump speeches. Those include the Medal of Honor speech in March, the State of the Union address, and a January speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

A rough estimate shows Perez made around $5,000 to $6,000 on each appearance. His winnings totaled six figures in all.

Kalshi has a policy against users placing bets based on information obtained as part of their jobs. Abnormal wagers were flagged by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, alerted by Kalshi, leading to the uncovering.

In certain instances, investigators uncovered times when Perez would back out of certain bets mid-speech when Trump skipped over a portion of the speech that included a word he had previously bet would be mentioned, the sources said.

Perez had the last say on final drafts. He could make last-second edits to add a word or phrase. He used that knowledge to make thousands. Trump called the situation a “disgrace.”

“The White House has strict ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers and officials to follow,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle.

Perez is continuing to work on staff as a technical assistant. He has not been fired. He is currently on unpaid leave. The CFTC has expressed a potential settlement that would allow profits to be paid back in full.

Donald Trump Jr. has history with Kalshi.

He was named a senior advisor in 2025. He reportedly received $300,000 worth of shares to do so, though he left Kalshi to go to Polymarket in August.

Trump Jr. invested eight figures in the rival company. He also earned a place on the advisory board.

His involvement in prediction markets has created concern. Everything from speeches to wars to election results can be wagered on at these platforms. Those close to the White House are not only privy to non-public intel, but they can influence decision making. Outcomes can be manipulated, as seen in the Gabriel Perez betting scandal.

The situation is sticky. Clearly, staffers have the ability to use insider knowledge to wager on major world happenings. Perez got caught. Are there others?