1 week Ago By Miklos Bolza
Despite his "foolproof" sports-betting scheme haemorrhaging money, Michael Pryde recklessly invited his friends and family to gamble their money. In the end, he lost over $1 million of their money in the failed scheme as he tried to beat the odds and recoup his losses. Pryde ran the Simply The Bets scheme with a promise that his self-made algorithm would bring about big wins for participants betting on golf, horse racing, basketball and baseball.
"A foolproof sports betting system designed to make you big long-term profits...
guaranteed," his profile on X, previously known as Twitter, still reads. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. But the profits were never guaranteed and the 32-year-old was later declared bankrupt ahead of his sentencing on Thursday for defrauding $1.
2 million from 20 victims. Inviting participants to deposit money into the scheme, he would then place bets and take 20 per cent of the winnings. While the algorithm worked initially, his gambling became more reckless and he started losing money, Magistrate Scott Nash said at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.
Between 2018 and 2023, the 32-year-old asked friends and family to join so he could use their funds to try recouping losses experienced by those who had made deposits earlier, Mr Nash said. "His motive was to try and repair, albeit deceptively and dishonestly, the damage to the business caused by the haemorrhaging losses it was experiencing over time," .
