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Request date: 30 January 2026
This version was printed or saved on: 14 February 2026
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/freedomofinformation/deployment-of-prosecutorial-powers
Please can I be given a list where the Gambling Commission has deployed its powers as a prosecuting authority since 2020. If this request will exceed the £450/18 hours cost please go back as far as you can within that boundary.
Please can the list include as much of the following as possible:
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested a list where the Gambling Commission has deployed its powers as a prosecuting authority since 2020.
Specifically:
Please note, we have interpreted ‘prosecutorial powers’ as any case in which the Gambling Commission have issued charges. We do not consider that ‘prosecutorial powers’ encompass where the Commission have used, or are currently using, powers to criminally investigate an operator/individual which have not led to charges. Therefore any criminal investigations that are currently ongoing or that resulted in an outcome other than a charging decision, such as a referral to an alternative law enforcement body or regulator, are not included in our response.
Section 21 of the FOIA provides that information is exempt from disclosure where it is reasonably accessible elsewhere.
In order to be of some assistance, please see the following list of prosecutions where any trial and sentencing has concluded since 2020:
Simon Rydings – plead guilty to misuse of lottery proceeds under s262 of the Act (November 2021, Magistrates Court, sentenced to 12-week immediate custodial sentence and £1,000 compensation to Sheffield Hospitals Charity).
Haydon Simcock – plead guilty to providing facilities for gambling without an operating licence (December 2025, Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, sentenced to a 30-week suspended sentence and a 200-hour community service order. Also ordered to pay £230,000 compensation to the victim and £60,000 of the Commission’s costs).
Please see the following list where a prosecution is ongoing as the case is yet to conclude:
Sorare – football-themed website Sorare.com is due to appear in court charged with providing unlicensed gambling facilities to consumers in Britain. A trial has been set for 10am on 15 June, 2026, at Birmingham Magistrates' Court. The outcome is therefore ongoing as the case is yet to conclude.
General Election Betting - fifteen people appeared before Westminster Magistrates’ Court charged with offences under the Gambling Act 2005. The offences relate to an investigation into alleged cheating related to bets placed on the timing of the 2024 General Election.
Two further trials are due to take place, with the first on 6 September 2027, and the second on 3 January 2028. The court will hear an application to dismiss commencing on 19 January 2026. The outcome is therefore ongoing as the case is yet to conclude.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission