A Stoke-on-Trent man has been arrested following a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) investigation into illegal gambling activity.
Hayden Simcock, 39, has been charged with providing facilities for gambling without having an operating licence and advertising unlicensed betting after being taken into custody by the Staffordshire Police.
The two offences refer to the time period of 18 October 2023 to 11 September 2024 and 26 May 2023 to 1 March 2024. He is now set to appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on 24 March.
Simcock has previously made headlines due to his alleged involvement in illegal gambling.
Last year, Simcock – who believed he was talking to a prospective customer – revealed to the Racing Post that he had acted as commercial manager for The Post Bookmakers – an unregulated firm taking bets through WhatsApp.
During the conversation, he claimed that the firm has 10 employees and 1,300 customers and expected a “ridiculously busy” Cheltenham Festival. He also recommended that the ‘customer’ should deposit as much as they can to take advantage of a matched deposit scheme.
UKGC investigation underpins black market presence
The UKGC investigation and subsequent arrest underpins the looming presence of the black market amid regulated markets like the UK.
Earlier this month, the UKGC issued a statement urging operators to monitor if their partners are partaking in illegal activity following a rise of online casino titles from UK-licensed suppliers on black market casinos.
The commission emphasised the lack of safeguards on black market sites that are a requirement of licensed operators, including abiding by self-exclusion schemes such as GAMSTOP.
It stated: “The websites may have inadequate social responsibility and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls in place and leave customers open to risks of fraud, data privacy issues and unfair practices. It is therefore imperative that the Commission, in collaboration with the gambling industry and key partners, take all possible steps to mitigate risk to GB consumers.”
Elsewhere, the All India Gaming Federation has issued a fresh report warning that the use of social media, particularly Facebook ads, to promote the black market is fuelling engagement.
The report detailed that unlicensed betting platforms had a total of 1.6 billion visits over a three-month period.
The threat of the black market has led many to advocate for more stringent regulation, however, industry stakeholders have consistently warned that doing so can have the opposite effect and embolden the unregulated sector.
Earlier this week, the former head of the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) warned that the Australian market is edging towards a tipping point due to excessive regulation and taxation.
Speaking at the Regulating the Game conference in Sydney, Michael Phelan, who served as CEO of ACIC between 2017 and 2022, said: “The issue is that if the market or taxation gets to a point beyond the equilibrium – if you get to a point where you tax the industry so much and you overregulate – then people will look to other markets to go to and we’ve seen that happen in [the Australian tobacco] industry where regulation falls off a cliff and you have zero visibility.”
