Jail Sentence for Man Who Stole £285K from Lottery-Based Charity

Do Not Pass 2022 – Go Straight to Jail!

The Gambling Commission of Great Britain are a powerful force to be reckoned with. Not only is it their job to make sure gambling operators are running how they should be, they’re also there to step in when positions of trust get abused. Just last week they handed down a fine to a gambling business (Greentube Alderney Limited), of £685K for their lack of social responsibility and money laundering failures and they will continue to monitor the company well into 2022.

In its annual Compliance and Enforcement Report dated December 9^th, the UKGC revealed more than £32.1million was paid by 15 gambling businesses, a sum made up of fines or regulatory settlements, and this figure is larger than any previous year! The governing body is there to protect people and to ensure gambling is crime-free and boy are we glad they are!

Gambled and Lost!

Simon Rydings, 50, of Edinburgh, has been sent to jail for 3-months after the Gambling Commission accused him of misusing lottery proceeds under the 2005 Gambling Act. Admitting to his crimes, Rydings deprived a charity of £285K between January 1^st, 2018, and March 31^st, 2020. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court was told how Rydings failed to pass on £285,000 of lottery proceeds to Sheffield Hospitals Charity while he was Chief Executive Officer of Capen Limited – a gambling operator with an external lottery manager licence.

Rydings told the court he had no money left and that he had used all the money he stole to pay for running of his business. As a result of his crimes, he has been jailed for three months and must pay just £1,000 in compensation to Sheffield Hospitals Charity, but he has 18-months to do this once he leaves prison.

Helen Venn, Gambling Commission Executive Director, said: “Lotteries in this country can only be run for good causes – charities and other non-commercial organisations who run lotteries rely heavily on the income they receive from lotteries to support the important work they do.

Simon Rydings completely failed as the CEO of a company with a Gambling Commission licence (ELM) and is now paying the price. Consumers in this country deserve to know that when they enter a lottery they are helping support their chosen cause – and we will not hesitate to take action against individuals who misuse funds in the way Rydings did.”

Source: “Jail for Man who Misused Lottery Profits”. Gambling Commission. November 26, 2021.