A British scam artist has opened up about his history of gambling addiction and the schemes he used to run. So, who is Jason Haddigan?
A fraudster convicted for scamming bookmakers in the UK confessed he lost over a shocking £4 million due to his gambling addiction.
Jason Haddigan is the talk of the internet as his name begins to make headlines, this time for a far more honest reason.
Who is Jason Haddigan?
Jason Haddigan is a British man who was convicted of defrauding betting shops all over the UK.
The conman, with the help of his father Brian and his friend Neil Cole, scammed bookies by swapping out losing betting slips for forgeries of winning ones. Between June 2012 and February 2013, the men managed to con more than £15,000 from various bookmakers like Ladbrokes, William Hill, and M Cook Bookmakers. They visited 31 betting shops in total.
Jason Haddigan was jailed in 2014 and banned from every betting shop in the country. He was jailed again in 2021.
The con man even wrote a book about his experiences and his addiction problems. In 2017, the book How And Why I Conned The Bookies revealed many of Haddigan’s motivations and schemes.
Con man opens up about elaborate gambling scam
In an interview with YouTuber James English, Jason discussed various aspects of his life and his crimes.
He reflected on when his gambling addiction first started, claiming it was his father’s influence that first got him hooked. “[I was] 16 when he first took me into a casino. You could just sign someone in then – nowadays, you’ve got ID and all that but you could just sign someone in.”
His first experience was the roulette wheel, which became his favorite. Although, the introduction of roulette machines is when things took a turn for the worst.
“The roulette machines, they came out into the bookmakers 15, 16 years ago. And when they came out, that’s when I lost over £4 million.”
He added, “For 30 years, the roulette has absolutely destroyed me.”
However, Jason revealed he hadn’t been in a casino for 3 years. The last time he attended a casino, Haddigan discovered he was banned. When he questioned why he was banned, he was allegedly met with a vague response from the staff. “He said we don’t have to give you a reason and he said ‘Also you’re banned from every single casino in the United Kingdom’.”
The con man concluded the ban had been good for him and his addiction struggles.
If you are suffering from problems relating to gambling addiction: In the UK you can access the Gamblers Anonymous website here or call 0330 094 0322. In the US, you can access the Gamblers Anonymous website here.