Illegal bookies in the UK were given a boost last week as a judge ruled that Alan Spence had to pay over $1 million in debt to David Solomon, despite the 78-year-old acting as an unlicensed bookmaker.
Spence argued that the debts should be unenforceable because Solomon was unlicensed. The judge in the case, Stuart Isaacs KC, ruled in Solomon’s favor, however.
Isaacs agreed that Solomon had been acting as an unlicensed bookmaker, but that this did not affect the enforceability of the debts owed to him, totalling £841,520.25 ($1.11 million).
In the wake of the ruling, Spence was forced to resign from his position as vice president of the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA). In a statement, the ROA said, “While we will not be commenting further on the case, we would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Alan for his dedication and service to the ROA.”
Spence remains Vice President of Chelsea Football Club. The club did not respond when asked for comment on the case.
Murky World of Unlicensed Gambling
Despite evidence coming to light that Solomon was operating an illegal gambling business, he has not faced any repercussions.
Isaacs condemned the murky world of unregulated gambling in his verdict. He said the case “provides a glimpse into the world of unlicensed betting,” which “involved frequent deception of each other and of third parties, which at the time neither party seems to have considered was either legally or even morally wrong.”
Spence initially racked up £582,144 (around $760,000) in debts from gambling with Solomon. He then lied about his financial position, claiming he was unable to pay the debts and that he had agreements with creditors for a debt-reduction plan. He even went as far as to fabricate meetings with creditors.
“I shouldn’t have done that because we had agreed to the compromise. It was foolish to do this. I didn’t need to do it, it was crazy,” Spence admitted in court.
Solomon agreed to reduce the debt to £175,000 ($231,000). The pair also reached an agreement for Spence to place bets on Solomon’s behalf at the online gambling site Spreadex.
Imaginary Bookie ‘George’ Damages Defence
Rather than placing the bets as instructed, Spence attempted to keep the money Solomon gave him to wager. He lied about placing the bets. He then said he began placing the bets with another unlicensed bookie, known only as “George.”
Solomon’s lawyers claimed George was another of Spence’s fabrications. George’s involvement was dropped by Spence’s defence team in their closing submissions.
The story appears to have damaged his case as Isaacs commented, “The detail about George provided by the defendant is implausible and was, in my judgment, intended to lend credibility to a story which is entirely fictitious…In short, George did not exist and I find that the defendant’s evidence about George was untruthful.”
He added that Spence’s “dishonest conduct” means he is “far from blameless for the situation in which he finds himself.”
Will Solomon Face Charges?
In his ruling, Isaacs noted that the proper response to Solomon running an unlicensed gambling business is not to void Spence’s debts, but to pursue criminal prosecution.
He noted that Spence was a multimillionaire, not a vulnerable person who should be protected. In another case, unlicensed bookie Haydon Simcock faced criminal prosecution in December. Simcock threatened customers and failed to pay out winnings. The court ordered that he pay his debts and serve a suspended prison sentence.
In Solomon’s case, he was not accused of intimidating Spence or doing anything to deceive him into losing money.
“The defendant’s own evidence was that the claimant never put undue pressure on him to resume or increase his gambling. He engaged with the claimant with his eyes open, at first suspecting and then being clear that the claimant was not a licensed bookmaker,” Isaacs said in his ruling.
This appears to have exonerated him. He also claims he had placed bets for friends and acquaintances for small stakes before meeting Spence. His main business is office furniture.
UK Sends Mixed Messages on Illegal Gambling
Solomon does not appear to have been running a large-scale operation, which could spare him criminal prosecution. However, it sends a mixed message about the acceptability of running unlicensed gambling in the UK.
The country has said it is stepping up efforts to eradicate the black market. Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross is leading an Illegal Gambling Taskforce.
As part of the efforts to tackle the problem, the government has opened a consultation on unlicensed operators sponsoring Premier League soccer clubs. Currently, several gambling companies that are blocked in the UK sponsor teams, including Stake, which sponsors Everton FC.
“This consultation, alongside the work of our Illegal Gambling Taskforce, shows how seriously this government is taking the issue. We will not hesitate to act where we see people being put at risk,” said Twycross.
As Isaacs noted, Spence was not a person being put at risk, but the judgment also exonerates Solomon and could encourage others to continue operating as illegal bookies.
“If they can’t do anything about a case operating as openly as this, then it shows the difficulty they have,” said professional gambler Neil Channing in comments to the Racing Post.
