UK: Man escapes jail sentence for WhatsApp betting operation
A Stoke-on-Trent man who ran an illegal WhatsApp betting operation has escaped jail after failing to pay a customer’s £269,000 account balance.
Birmingham Magistrates’ Court handed 40-year-old Haydon Simcock a 30-week suspended sentence, 200 hours of community service and 20 hours of rehabilitation activity. He must also repay £230,001 in compensation and cover £60,000 in Gambling Commission costs.
Simcock, of Valley Road in Weston Coyney, admitted offering and advertising gambling without a licence between May 2023 and September 2024. The court heard that the Gambling Commission, working with Staffordshire Police, launched a criminal probe after a tip-off from a Racing Post journalist.
Investigators found Simcock posed as a VIP commercial manager for The Post Bookmakers while inviting customers to gamble on WhatsApp, setting up accounts, collecting cash and agreeing odds, bonuses and referral rewards. Messages on his devices suggested he knowingly took bets from suspected drug dealers and even claimed he could make an unhappy customer “disappear”.
Gambling Commission Director of Enforcement John Pierce said the heavy-handed action was needed to keep residents of the UK safe.
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.
“This investigation shows our determination to take action against illegal operators and protect consumers from harm. 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.”
One victim was repeatedly assured his money was “safe” despite never receiving his £269,000 winnings. Magistrates said Simcock “narrowly avoided custody”, suspending his sentence for two years.
The case comes amid a surge in unlicensed digital gambling in the UK, with frustrated punters increasingly turning to offshore operators and alternatives to Gambling Commission-regulated sites in search of higher stakes and looser controls — but often at the expense of consumer protections.
While the UK has one of the most developed gambling jurisdictions in the world, it has come under increased criticism because of the heavy-handed regulation surrounding online casinos and sports betting sites, which is giving offshore operators a foot in the door.
