The facts
Three prominent UK bookmakers - Ladbrokes, William Hill, and Betfred - have been linked to a 2022 deal between Sports Information Services (SIS), a gambling content provider they partly own, and the Santeda online casino network. The Guardian revealed this arrangement through the Casino Secrets leak, which exposed confidential files from Curaçao's gambling regulator. The leaked contract shows SIS agreed to supply Santeda with live horse-racing, greyhound, and esports content, along with betting-settlement data, in exchange for a share of revenue from losing bets. Santeda has faced accusations of illegally targeting vulnerable UK gamblers and was fined in Spain for operating without a license. Companies House filings indicate that SIS shareholders, including the three bookmakers, received at least £37 million in dividends after the deal was signed, with £30 million distributed in 2023. Ladbrokes, which owns 23% of SIS, suggests it received approximately £8.5 million, while William Hill's nearly 20% stake implies over £7 million. Fred Done, Betfred's owner and an SIS director with an 8% stake, appears to have received nearly £3 million. Gambling reform campaigners have criticized the bookmakers for profiting from the illicit market while simultaneously warning the government about its growth due to potential tax increases and regulation. Industry sources suggest the bookmakers may not have been aware of the specific deal with Santeda due to internal controls. SIS stated that all customers agree to offer its products only where legal and licensed, and that it takes corrective action if terms are not adhered to.
Our take
Well, well, well. It turns out the UK's biggest fucking bookmakers, the ones who love to clutch their pearls and warn the government about the perils of the illicit gambling market, have been getting their dicks sucked by that very same market. The Guardian, using the Casino Secrets leak, found that Sports Information Services - a content provider partly owned by Ladbrokes, William Hill, and Betfred - signed a sweetheart deal in 2022 with the Santeda online casino network. Santeda is a proper piece of shit operation, accused of illegally targeting vulnerable UK gamblers and even fined in Spain for running without a license. But SIS didn't give a single fuck; they agreed to feed Santeda live racing, esports, and betting data in exchange for a cut of all the money those poor bastards lost. That's not a partnership; it's a fucking revenue-sharing pact with a pirate ship, and the three bookies were standing on the dock waving them in.
And what did these moral guardians, these self-appointed defenders of the regulated market, get for their trouble? A giant fucking bag of cash, that's what. After the deal was signed, SIS shareholders - which include these three sanctimonious pricks - raked in at least 37 million pounds in dividends, with 30 million pounds of that dished out just last year. Ladbrokes, with its 23 percent stake, likely pocketed about 8.5 million pounds. William Hill's nearly 20 percent slice suggests over 7 million pounds. And Fred Done, Betfred's owner and an SIS director, probably got nearly 3 million pounds for his 8 percent. So while their lobbyists were whining to ministers that potential tax hikes could drive gamblers into the arms of the black market, their own corporate hands were already wrist-deep in the black market's fucking pockets, pulling out millions. It's the most spectacular, bald-faced act of hypocrisy since a televangelist got caught with a hooker and a bag of meth.
Their excuse, from anonymous 'industry sources,' is that the bookmakers might not have known about the specific deal because of 'internal controls.' What a load of absolute bullshit. You're a major shareholder in a company, you're on the board, and you're pocketing millions in dividends directly linked to that company's revenue, but you're somehow unaware it's doing business with a notorious offshore pariah? That's not a control failure; that's a fucking wilful blindness, a calculated strategy to keep your own hands clean while your subsidiary does the dirty work. SIS's pathetic statement - that all customers agree to offer its products only where legal and licensed - is just corporate word-salad meant to obscure the fact they were supplying a network that gives zero fucks about licenses. They were pouring petrol on the very fire they publicly claim to want to put out.
So let's call these bookies what they are: a pack of grifting, two-faced cunts. They built their empires on legalized gambling, then realized they could make even more money by secretly funding the illegal competition, all while using the threat of that same illegal competition to lobby for lighter taxes and softer rules on themselves. They're not industry leaders; they're absolute parasites, sucking profit from both sides of the regulatory fence and laughing all the way to the bank. The next time a Ladbrokes or William Hill exec opens their mouth to warn about the dangers of the unregulated market, someone should shove their dividend statement right up their ass.
