Gambling Commission charges individual linked to illegal horseracing operator
Regulator says Haydon Simcock provided illegal gambling facilities and advertised to UK players without a licence
The Gambling Commission (GC) has charged Haydon Simcock, a registered British horseracing owner, for providing gambling facilities and advertising gambling to the UK market without the relevant licence.
In a statement released on 13 March, the UK regulator said Simcock, from Stoke-on-Trent, provided facilities illegally to UK players between 18 October 2023 and 11 September 2024.
He was also charged for advertising illegal betting offers between 26 May 2023 and 1 March 2024.
The investigation that led to Simcock’s arrest last September was led by the Gambling Commission in conjunction with Staffordshire Police.
The GC said it would not be making further comment at this time.
Simcock’s arrest follows an initial investigation conducted by the Racing Post, published last February 2024, which accused him of fronting an illegal bookmakers purporting to have over 1,000 customers.
The illegal bookmaker, known as The Post Bookmakers, took horseracing bets through messaging platform WhatsApp, according to the Racing Post‘s report.
During the undercover investigation into the business, Simcock, who claimed to be The Post Bookmakers’ commercial manager, recommended to an undercover reporter posing as a potential customer to deposit as much money as possible in the run up to Cheltenham Festival in order to take advantage of deposit match signup offers.
He said the bookmaker employed 10 people and had up to 1,300 customers, and cited lack of affordability checks and fewer account restrictions as reasons for the operation’s popularity among punters.
According to the report, Simcock also “provided reassurance that the firm offered discretion and that punters would have their identities and funds protected”.
The Racing Post’s report last February led to an additional investigation by the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), followed by the Gambling Commission, that told the Racing Post the regulator “always investigates allegations of unlicensed gambling”.
EGR has contacted the BHA for comment.
In September 2024, the Betting and Gaming Council commissioned a study into the UK’s illegal gambling market last year, with the report compiled by Frontier economics.
The data claimed £4.3bn is staked on the black market each year by as many as 1.5 million Britons.
Research from boutique analyst firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming said the UK’s online black market could be worth around £1.5bn.
Back in February, the Gambling Commission announced plans to introduce mandatory deposit limits for customers, which are set to come into effect from 31 October 2025.