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Adam Roarty is a journalist covering sports betting, regulation, and industry innovation for CasinoBeats. His coverage includes tax increases in the UK, covering breaking stories in the ever-evolving landscape of US betting such as the...
Read Full BioThe stepson of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Evan Whitesell, allegedly passed along information that the billionaire would not attend the Super Bowl, prompting his frat brothers to wager thousands of dollars on Kalshi’s market.
Whitesell attends the University of Miami, where he is a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house. The Wall Street Journal claims members of the frat heard information that his stepfather would not attend the Super Bowl.
‘We Know This Shouldn’t Be Allowed’
“We know this shouldn’t be allowed,” said one brother involved. “People are like, is this insider information? Is this regulated? You feel like you’re doing something you’re not supposed to. It feels like someone should stop you.”
Kalshi’s market had Bezos at a high of 94% for attendance at the beginning of February. As information began to circulate around the frat that he had no plans to attend, the students piled into the market. One member placed a $10,000 bet on him not attending.
The chances soon plummeted. The price history at Kalshi shows a massive drop from 94% to 11%.
Those without inside knowledge soon pushed the price back up to 78% again. The information began to spread further afield, with sources telling the WSJ it reached another campus.
Whitesell himself has not been accused of placing any money on the market, with sources saying he does not have a Kalshi account. Others, however, made substantial profits. One fraternity brother said his winnings would help pay for spring break.
Kalshi Vows to Punish Insider Trading
Kalshi has recently taken action against some instances of insider trading. It fined and suspended an editor of MrBeast’s videos and a California Gubernatorial candidate last week.
The company has an internal surveillance system named Poirot, after the Belgian detective, to identify suspicious wagering.
CEO Tarek Mansour said the platform takes a strong stance against insider trading, noting, “If we find wrongdoing, penalties range from warnings and fines, to referrals to the CFTC (and sometimes DOJ) for civil/criminal prosecution.”
A Kalshi spokesperson did not explicitly confirm the company is investigating the market, but told CasinoBeats via email, “We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.”
Mark Wahlberg Attendance Market Also Caused Controversy
In total, almost $40 million was wagered on the market “Who will attend the big game?” which featured a host of celebrities. The majority of the money was traded on Mark Wahlberg. Users traded a total of $23 million on the actor, who also did not attend the game.
Kalshi did not resolve the market until Monday afternoon, with Wahlberg still given a 3% chance of attending. Earlier in the week, the market gave him an 89% chance of attending.
The spike in interest in Wahlberg, a noted New England Patriots fan, was allegedly fueled by his daughter, Ella Wahlberg. Ella is a student at Clemson University and a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority.
Rumors spread on social media that she had told other students her father would attend the game. Some users posted their wagers on X, claiming it was a “lock” that he would attend.
It is unclear if Wahlberg’s daughter informed anyone of the truth that he would not attend, allowing them to profit on the market. After the match, she posted on Instagram, “Every idiot that thought their fraternity was at the front of the information mill and bet on Mark Wahlberg deserves to lose their money.”
