The Smart Betting Club Podcast

Bettors’ Rights, Bookmaker Disputes & the Legal Risks of Multi-Accounting with Harry Stewart-Moore

• Smart Betting Club • Season 1 • Episode 91

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Returning guest Harry Stewart-Moore, betting lawyer and partner at Gardner Leader, answers listener questions and pulls back the curtain on the toughest legal issues facing bettors in 2025.

MULTI ACCOUNTING CHAT

  • What you really need to know about multi-accounting, runners, and 'beards'
    Why these tactics are under growing scrutiny in the UK, where the legal boundaries sit, and how some bettors are being pulled into cases they never saw coming.
  • Why civil forfeiture cases under the Proceeds of Crime Act are quietly becoming a big issue
    How funds can be frozen and seized under POCA, what typically triggers these actions, and the steps bettors must take to recover their money.

BETTING DISPUTES

  • Why fewer disputes are reaching court even as complaints surge
    The practical hurdles punters face when trying to litigate against bookmakers.
  • Why overseas firms are so hard to pursue and the loophole that needs closing
    The service-of-process gap that lets some operators stay beyond reach.
  • ID requests, document checks, and withdrawal blocks
    Why guidance remains unclear, leading to repeated standoffs.
  • What happens to withheld funds during a stalemate and the 5 percent account-maintenance fee
    The real-world impact on customers when neither side will budge.

MONITORING, OMBUDSMAN & BLACK MARKET

  • The realities of betting-shop compliance
    How shop punters are tracked and the thresholds that trigger additional checks.
  • Will the proposed ombudsman deliver genuine change or simply mirror IBAS?
    Harry weighs up the likely scope and limitations of the new body.
  • How a lack of industry solutions is pushing sharp punters toward the black market
    Why better options are urgently needed before the problem grows.
  • Harry’s solutions to fix racing
    His straight-talking ideas to protect the sport’s integrity and keep savvy bettors engaged.
  • The need for a campaign to warn unsuspecting users of black-market dangers
    Education as the first line of defence against shady operators.
  • Why Harry believes the black market poses an existential threat to legal gambling
  • As trust erodes and more money flows outside the regulated space, the long-term health of the licensed betting industry is at risk.

Harry also explains why “being in the right” often is not enough when challenging a bookmaker, especially when rules are vague and the firm sits offshore.


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