Posted on: January 8, 2025, 03:43h.
Last updated on: January 8, 2025, 03:43h.
The son of Tony Blair’s former chief spin doctor could be facing a criminal inquiry in the UK in relation to the collapse of his sports betting syndicate, The Times of London reports.
Rory Campbell, son of director of communications and chief strategist for the Blair government Alastair Campbell, is on the hook for more than £5 million to investors in his ill-fated soccer betting fund.
Campbell, 37, informed the investors that the syndicate had collapsed around two weeks ago, according to sources who spoke to The Mail on Sunday.
Campbell claimed this was because sportsbooks in Asia had failed to pay out winnings to the syndicate, according to investors.
Bet Placer ‘Unpaid Since Jan’
But a separate investor told the Racing Room betting podcast Monday that they believed Campbell’s main bet placer had not been paid since January. This could be significant because Campbell did not inform investors that the fund could be at risk until mid-July.
Racing Room co-presenter Anthony Kaminskas, the founder of AK Bets, said he had been invited to join the syndicate, but declined, and knew some of the disgruntled investors. He read out a message from one who preferred to remain anonymous.
“Six months of investors asking for any kind of proof of Asian agents and bookmakers not paying,” read Kaminskas. “Not just a refusal to provide any … but talking to investors like they’re fools and [are] not entitled to ask where their money’s gone.”
It’s completely impossible to lose the whole lot this way,” he continued. “All syndicates, including his, use multiple bookies and agents to ensure the best price. They haven’t all gone rogue.
“[…] Some people assume the syndicate was loss-making. It wasn’t. It was winning seven of the last eight years … The only person who knows how these bets were placed is Rory.”
Smart Investors
Podcast members emphasized that Campbell’s backers were not naïve individuals investing their life savings in a get-rich-quick scheme. They were all savvy, experienced gamblers and industry stakeholders, and included a former executive with The Racing Post, a high-ranking official with the British Horseracing Authority, and even a television racing presenter.
Among them was Allastair Campbell who invested £300,000 in his son’s fund.
Investors say they expected a 4% return on their money at the end of the last soccer season in May. When this did not materialize, Campbell made assurances that there was “no hole” in the fund and they could expect to receive their money “in full” by the end of July.
The Times of London reported that negotiations to find a settlement between the two camps broke down on Friday. One investor has filed a lawsuit in the London county court to recoup £266,000, while others are threatening to report Campbell to the Serious Fraud Office if he does not explain where the money has gone.