Syndicate falls
The son of Alastair Campbell, a prominent political figure in the UK, is facing potential legal trouble after the collapse of his betting syndicate, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
Rory Campbell, 37, has allegedly left investors facing a £5m ($6.26m) black hole after claiming that bookmakers in Asia failed to pay out on several winnings.
A dossier of evidence has now been passed on to UK police.
Campbell was claimed to have spent the summer reassuring investors that they would get their money, before his lawyers informed them that the fund had collapsed two weeks ago. A dossier of evidence has now been passed on to UK police.
Investors’ demands
Rory is the son of Alastair Campbell, who rose to power in 1997 as the chief spin doctor during Tony Blair’s Labour government. Alastair has since served as an advisor to multiple political parties around the world and co-hosted the popular “The Rest Is Politics” podcast.
Rory previously told interviewers that he spent the majority of his time at university “playing poker, watching football, and betting on football.” After graduating, he worked as an analyst at several UK soccer clubs.
Around five years ago, he began a new syndicate which used data analysis to place bets on UK and European soccer matches, with over 50 people investing between £10,000 ($12,530) and £500,000 ($626,522) each into the scheme.
investor diagnosed with terminal cancer encountered problems when trying to withdraw his money
Last year, one investor diagnosed with terminal cancer encountered problems when trying to withdraw his money from the syndicate, writing in November 2023: “I am now reaching the end of my tether and the next step will be for me to start looking at legal options to recover what you owe me.”
“I really don’t want to do that but when you continually tell me the money is coming shortly (since July) and December is approaching you can understand why I think you may not be good for it.”
A year later, the investor is still yet to receive any of the money.
In April, Campbell promised investors that he was good for the money and that “there is absolutely no hole” in the syndicate, before insisting that the money would soon be paid again in June. However, by July, he warned that only 50-65% of the investment would be able to be repaid.
Police notified
Lawyers attempted to negotiate with investors for a settlement, but after several grueling sessions, the talks stalled. Twenty investors have now compiled a dossier of evidence about the syndicate, including how it operated, its profits, and what was promised to investors, to pass over to the police.
Speaking to the Mail, one investor said: “Rory told us that at no time could he lose more than 5% of the total betting fund to a single bookmaker and that his job was to manage that risk.”
we want a proper explanation of where all the millions of pounds have gone”
“Then suddenly all the money has just disappeared. He has provided absolutely zero evidence of where it has gone and we want a proper explanation of where all the millions of pounds have gone.”
Another added: “We will be very lucky to get 15% of our losses back after legal and professional costs.”
Responding to the investigation, a representative of Campbell stated the report had been produced from: “An incomplete and in several respects inaccurate account of a highly complex set of issues, which are currently the subject of what we had understood to be confidential negotiations intended to seek a resolution between the various parties.”