Calls for Gambling Commission to investigate Reform UK donors
It’s been alleged that firms connected to associates of Nigel Farage have been operating unlicensed gambling.
UK.- The British Gambling Commission has been asked to probe allegations that firms connected to Reform UK donors and associates of the party’s leader Nigel Farage may have been operating without the necessary licences. Labour chair Bridget Phillipson has written to the regulator urging it to examine Tether.bet, a Montenegro-based gambling platform, and Fispay, a UK company owned by Reform’s data protection officer, Mowbray Jackson.
Her intervention follows a Sunday Times investigation that claimed the two companies had been active in the UK gaming market without authorisation. Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne’s £5m donation to Farage is already under review by the parliamentary commissioner for standards. Meanwhile, George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster and long-time ally of Farage, has been linked to Tether.bet, which posted a closure notice on its website on August 12.
Providing gambling services in Britain without a Gambling Commission licence would be a breach of the Gambling Act 2005.
In her letter, Phillipson asked the Commission to investigate “whether Tether.bet, and its operators, provided or advertised remote gambling facilities to consumers in the UK without the required licence” and “whether Fispay Ltd, or any other UK company, provided or supported gambling facilities or services to consumers in the UK without the required licence.”
She added: “These are the latest allegations in a mountain of unanswered questions concerning Reform’s donors and finances. Nigel Farage cannot dodge them for ever. He needs to stop making excuses and come clean with the public.”
Responses from Jackson, Harborne and Cottrell
Jackson told the Sunday Times his firm “exclusively” arranged private jet travel and had never offered gambling products. Meanwhile, Cottrell has claimed that he was a customer of Tether.bet and has “never solicited clients for any betting company”.
The Sunday Times reported that Cottrell was a prominent customer of Tether.bet and that Harborne owned IFX, a payments company that processed transactions for another operator handling deposits and winnings. Cottrell’s lawyers told the paper his involvement “has been limited to that of a customer, in addition to which, he knows and is friends with the owner.”
When contacted by the Guardian newspaper, his lawyers described him as “one of the world’s best-known professional gamblers,” adding: “It is therefore hardly surprising that [others] may seek to associate themselves with him in an attempt to lend credibility to their businesses or generate publicity. Mr Cottrell has never invested in, owned or operated any betting company or casino. He has never solicited clients for any betting company or casino. Any suggestion that he was involved in unlawful gambling activity is wholly false.”
Harborne’s representatives told the Sunday Times he had no role in IFX’s operations and that the company “operates in accordance with applicable regulations and legislation across the markets it supports.”
Farage recently secured victory in the Clacton byelection, returning with a larger majority and more votes than in 2024. Yet the parliamentary standards commissioner swiftly reopened an inquiry into whether he failed to declare gifts received before the last general election. These include Harborne’s £5m personal donation and additional financial support from Cottrell.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs must register any gifts worth more than £300 received in the previous 12 months, unless the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities. Farage has downplayed the inquiry but conceded the watchdog may rule against him. Should a standards committee recommend a suspension of more than 10 days, it could trigger another byelection.
