Spectra

About Spectra

The sanctions, effective from 28 August 2026 , bar Santos from any direct or indirect trading access on Kalshi.

Earlier this year, fellow prediction market platform Polymarket also ended its paid relationship with Santos amid a Department of Justice investigation over whether he had placed a wager on his appearance at the same State of Union address. 

A federal judge sentenced Santos to 87 months in prison last April on felony wire fraud and check fraud charges. After Santos served several months in 2025, US President Donald Trump granted the former congressman clemency, resulting in his immediate release. 

What is Spectra?

“The Commission’s approach to reporting may well create the inaccurate impression that the industry is inherently non-compliant,” he adds. A more balanced account might place failures alongside the majority of licensees that pass assessments or lead on customer wellbeing, although Waugh considers such a shift unlikely.

The “too easy to get a licence” argument doesn’t necessarily hold up to scrutiny, to be fair. Andrew Bentley, co-founder and CEO of regulatory technology startup LiSense, is one who rejects the suggestion.

“There are significant checks on individuals and businesses before a licence is granted,” he says. “The UK Gambling Commission has set out what it expects. If you want a licence in the UK, you need to meet those expectations.”

How to play Spectra

It finds that online gaming shows more documented terrorist financing activity than gambling, although proliferation financing risks remain limited across both sectors.

Cash, e-wallets, mobile money and virtual assets emerge as the payment methods most vulnerable to abuse. This is particularly true where operators use them to structure deposits below reporting thresholds. 

Giles Thomson, FATF president, said unregulated sectors risk becoming “attractive gateways for fraudsters, professional money launderers and organised criminal networks”. He called on governments to strengthen oversight, crack down on illegal and offshore operators and deepen public-private cooperation.