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British illegal WhatsApp bookie gets suspended jail sentence
Haydon Simcock received a 30-week suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay £230,000 in victim compensation for operating an illegal gambling business through WhatsApp and failing to pay a customer’s account balance of £269,000.
Simcock, 40, admitted running unlicensed operations between October 18, 2023, and September 11, 2024, as well as advertising his services between May 26, 2023, and March 1, 2024.
The case was uncovered after the Gambling Commission and Staffordshire Police received a tip from a reporter at the Racing Post. As a result of the investigation, it was revealed that Simcock claimed to be a VIP commercial manager at the Post Bookmakers to lure in clients.
John Pierce, director of enforcement at the Gambling Commission, said:
“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. 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 ruling came as the commission published the fourth chapter of its research into the UK’s black market in November 2025.
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