Labour MP Asks Gambling Commission to Scrutinise Tether.bet and Fispay

A Labour MP has requested for the Gambling Commission to investigate allegations concerning Tether.bet, an unlicensed crypto betting platform linked to donors of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Last week, Tether.bet, which is licensed in Curacao, announced its website and domain have been permanently closed, after previously asking British VIP players to make deposits and receive winnings via Fispay Ltd., a UK company owned by Mowbray Jackson, Reform’s Data Protection Officer. Fispay is also unlicensed by the Commission and reportedly does not have an account with a traditional bank.

Further Reform connections

Fispay is said by the Sunday Times to have instead handled funds using IFX, a cross-border payments firm owned by Christopher Harborne, who has previously donated £5 million to Farage and £12 million to the Reform UK party. Reports on the operator’s activities have also mentioned George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster.

Cottrell is alleged to have received millions by Tether.bet via a firm in Montenegro, where he is based as a tax resident. Cottrell has provided Farage, who returned to parliament after winning a by-election in Clacton last week, with support including staff, security, social media support, drivers and air travel. Farage said this was personal support and not tied to politics.

Jackson has claimed his company exclusively brokered private jet travel and has never provided facilities for gambling, while Cottrell is reported to have said he was only a customer at Tether.bet, and has “never solicited clients for any betting company”. His lawyers added he “has been limited to that of a customer, in addition to which, he knows and is friends with the owner”.

What Phillipson is asking for

Harborne has said he was not involved in the running of IFX, and IFX said it “operates in accordance with applicable regulations and legislation across the markets it supports”. Following the reports, Bridget Phillipson, MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, wrote to Sarah Gardner, Acting Chief Executive of the Commission.

Phillipson has asked for the British regulator to focus on whether Tether.bet and Fispay is in breach of the 2005 Gambling Act, which stipulates it is an offence to provide facilities for gambling in the UK unless the person, or company, doing so holds a license with the Commission.

Phillipson wrote:

“In light of these allegations, I would urge the Commission to investigate: whether Tether.bet, and its operators, provided or advertised remote gambling facilities to consumers in UK without the required license; whether Fispay Ltd., or any other UK company, provided or supported gambling facilities or services to consumers in the UK without the required license.”

What the law says

The law regarding unlicensed activity includes individuals or entities based outside the UK, but whose gambling facilities are used there. If an unlicensed operator “knows or should know” that UK customers are betting through them, they are guilty of an offence that can be punishable of up to a year in prison.

When announcing its closure last week, Tether.bet said:

“We are sorry to announce that the Tether.bet brand is no longer operating, and customers can no longer access their accounts through this URL.”

Tether.bet directed users to its gambling partner NNVIP88, a Filipino gambling platform which is not licensed in Great Britain.

When typing the Tether.bet domain name into a browser from the UK, the user is warned the connection to the website is not secure, and the contents of the site are now inaccessible.