Illegal WhatsApp bookmaker sentenced after Gambling Commission uncovers misconduct

The UK’s Gambling Commission has announced that an illegal WhatsApp bookmaker has been sentenced.

The man in question, Haydon Simcock from Weston Coyney, Stoke on Trent, was judged to have defaulted on his responsibilities to bettors, including the repayment of a £269,000 ($358,144.78) account balance.

A man from Stoke-on-Trent has received a 30 week suspended sentence after a joint investigation by the Gambling Commission and @StaffsPolice found he ran an illegal WhatsApp gambling business.

To read more about the story, visit our website https://t.co/ympo0MrokK pic.twitter.com/pA7aSObZfI

— Gambling Commission (@GamRegGB) December 9, 2025

Illegal WhatsApp bookmaker sentenced

Simcock ran Post Bookmakers through the communication platform, taking on the role of VIP commercial manager. His company authorized individuals to bet via WhatsApp, and Simcock took responsibility for account handling and financial transactions, according to the Gambling Commission report.

Specifically, his role provided “direct administrative back-up to the gambling transaction, by agreeing odds, agreeing offers such as matched deposits and rewards for referrals, and taking payments from customers.”

The Gambling Commission, in partnership with Staffordshire Police, responded to information directed to them by concerned individuals, including an investigative reporter from The Racing Post.

“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,” said John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement.

Simcock faces fines

The report, heard by Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, referenced Simcock’s connection to bettors who allegedly sold drugs and made threatening remarks via records discovered from his electronic devices.

The devices, according to the Gambling Commission, “revealed he (Simcock) took bets from people he suspected of dealing drugs, suggested he could make a disgruntled customer ‘disappear’ and failed to pay one customer his £269,000 account balance.”

Simcock was sentenced to a 30-week suspended jail sentence and a 200-hour community service order, but the presiding Magistrate sternly told him, “he narrowly avoided custody.”

The defaulted bookmaker will repay £230,000 ($306,000) in compensation to the victim and will foot £60,000 ($80,000) in Gambling Commission fees.

This would be a fortuitous outcome for Simcock as he previously admitted to operating a gambling business without a license and advertising “unlawful gambling” without a license on two separate occasions from May 2003 to September 2024.

Pierce concluded, “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.”

Featured image: Haydon Simcock via X

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