"The Wolf of Wall Street" on the minimum wage: how one Briton with a phone imitated an international gambling syndicate

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) has put an end to an unusual investigation. The regulator has revealed the activities of an illegal betting network, which, as it turned out, was based on the enthusiasm of only one person, a local resident Haydon Simcock. For almost a year, he ran an underground business, accepting bets and launching advertising without any licences.

"One for all" scheme

Simcock showed remarkable ingenuity. He came up with a non-existent company under the respectable name The Post BUKmakers, and he introduced himself to clients as an elite VIP manager.

Haydon single-handedly covered all the staff positions of the fictional corporation:

• registered new accounts for gullible players;
• answered questions on behalf of technical support;
• He was personally engaged in collection and collection of deposits.

Collapse of the empire

The business model collapsed when investigators took up the case. When analysing Simcock's gadgets, extensive correspondence with customers was found, which became the main evidence.

The client transferred an impressive amount of $319,000 to the fraudster. However, when it came to withdrawing funds, Simcock returned only 13 thousand, appropriating the rest for himself.

The price of excitement

British justice did not appreciate Simcock's entrepreneurial talent. The court ruled that he should return the stolen $306,000 to the victim, as well as compensate the regulator for the investigation in the amount of $80,000.

In addition to financial losses, the "bookmaker" received criminal punishment:

• 30 weeks' imprisonment (suspended);
• 200 hours of compulsory community service.

This story is a vivid reminder that behind the façade of a "successful betting service" sometimes there is not a large corporation, but just one cunning guy with WhatsApp installed.