The study was conducted by former fraudster Alex Wood, who has now turned to protecting the public against frauds themselves. Wood was a fraudster for over 25 years, spending eight of those behind bars, but now works as an anti-fraud consultant with a range of stakeholders. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of fraud awareness course provider Reform Courses.
When discussing his findings, Wood described the nature of the unregulated market very plainly: “It’s like the Wild West. They don’t give a sh*t.”
During Cheltenham week, he found that he could place bets on sites which aren’t legal in the UK, whilst signing up under various pseudonyms which ranged from the bizarre to the unsettling.
Whilst conducting the research, Wood, is currently part of BBC Radio 4’s Scam Secrets team, was able to sign up to the unlice..
