A 40-year man has been sentenced in the UK over the supply of illegal gambling without a licence.
Stoke-on-Trent resident Haydon Simcock was found guilty of providing gambling services between 18 October 2023 and 11 September 2024, and advertising without permission between 26 May 2023 and 1 March 2024.
The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was tipped off by a reporter from the Racing Post, leading to a joint investigation together with Staffordshire Police, the findings of which were presented to Birmingham Magistrates’ Court.
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement, commented: “This case illustrates all the risks that consumers face from illegal gambling – links to crime, having no regard for social responsibility, repeatedly exploiting consumers and operating without any of the necessary operational safeguards in place.”
A small win in the black market battle
Changes were first brought against Simcock in March this year. The UKGC and Staffordshire police investigation commenced a year after a Racing Post investigation posed as a prospective customer for a man named Haydon Simcock.
The UKGC has now confirmed that Simcock had been presenting himself as the VIP Commercial Manager at the non-existent The Post Bookmakers, and conducted the operation primarily through WhatsApp.
This included setting up customer accounts, pretending to be a customer service agent, and personally collecting the deposits from customers.
Evidence collected in the investigation included electronic devices, which revealed direct communication with victims, including repeated refusals to return one customer their balance of over £200,000.
In that specific case, the customer had deposited £240,000 but was only paid back £10,000 when requesting back their full deposit. For that reason, Simcock has been ordered to pay the rest £230,000 in compensation, as well as an additional £60,000 to cover UKGC costs.
In addition, he also has to serve 200 hours of community service and 20 hours of rehabilitation as part of his 30-week suspended jail sentence.
“This investigation shows our determination to take action against illegal operators and protect consumers from harm,” said Pierce.
“Using mobile apps like WhatsApp does not make illegal gambling invisible or beyond our reach – we can evidence such activity is taking place and we will use every power available to us to play our part in removing this unlawful activity from the British marketplace and to ensure those responsible are held to account for their actions.”
The UKGC has made clamping down on illegal gambling a top priority towards the end of 2025, with the black market estimated to account for around one-tenth of British gambling turnover each year while organisations like Gamstop estimate that a similar proportion of its self-excluded users are visiting unregulated casinos.
The extent of this market goes far beyond simple WhatsApp-based operations like Simcock’s, however. The UKGC, and by extension the regulated industry, has a big job on its hands, with many illegal operators based online, active across multiple jurisdictions, and making extensive use of cryptocurrency and blockchain to cover their tracks.