High-rolling punters lose millions in failure of Sydney betting firm

Celebrities, businessmen, their wives and lawyers have allegedly lost millions to a betting scheme run by a former “Joeys” schoolboy who recruited friends and their families as investors.

SYDNEY businessmen, their wives and lawyers have allegedly lost millions to a betting scheme that has rocked members of the eastern suburbs elite who invested in it, it can be revealed.

Michael Pryde, 31, used his old school network from exclusive St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill to recruit clients to invest in his “guaranteed” system he called Simply the Bets.

They had no idea that the man they trusted with their money never held a wagering service licence, according to the regulator, nor that he listed a fictitious business address in an apartment that does not exist in the prestigious McLaren Apartments in North Sydney.

The Supreme Court has issued a freezing order against Pryde to protect $1,357,304 allegedly owed to two businessmen who have begun civil action against him to recoup their money. Other cases are being prepared, lawyers have told The Daily Telegraph. Pryde has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing.

Michael Pryde is now the subject of civil court action. Picture Facebook.

The firm was registered to a North Sydney unit addres which did not exist.

In a separate action, the District Court has also ordered Pryde to pay $74,542 to Dean Jacobson, according to a court judgment.

Simply the Bets was still operating until November last year, according to Pryde’s bank statements.

Michael Pryde, 31, used his old school network to recruit investors. Picture: LinkedIn

Some of the over 100 investors, including one prominent real estate agent and a well-known lawyer, were repaid while others who invested later are still owed millions.

Pryde told The Telegraph on Sunday that the legal action had taken a “devastating” toll on his mental health.

“I will state that there are two sides to every story and the fact this has not even been finalised in the courts,” he said.

In June last year, Pryde sent one investor a copy of a Commonwealth Bank statement showing he had $2,620,803 in his account. The amount was really $2,620, it has been alleged in the Supreme Court.

“I have become increasingly concerned that the purported profits from my money that Mr Pryde has asserted that he has achieved may have been falsified,” another investor, 61, a wealthy Bronte businessman, told the Supreme Court in an affidavit.

Pryde promoted Simply the Bets as “an honest sports betting system ... proud to guarantee results by using a tried and trusted algorithm system that really works.

“I love that I can guarantee profits unlike many other sports betting systems. Like you, I never liked the feeling losing when gambling.”

The Bronte businessman is an example of how people began to invest with Pryde.

His affidavit, which has been released by the court, said he was referred by his business partner whose lawyer son spoke highly of the profits he was making through Simply the Bets.

His business partner, 65, told him: “I have invested monies with Michael Pryde who is a friend of (my son’s). He has a unique betting system which is very successful. (My son) has received substantial returns.”

He initially invested $100,000 in 2021 and Pryde told him that if he had invested it 12 months earlier, he would have made $207,657.

Pryde took 20 per cent of the profits.

The man invested another $200,000 and had “great confidence” in the scheme after regular betting statements from Pryde that showed “continual increases in profit and detailed calculations of the current balance of my investments”, according to his affidavit.

Then in November 2021 he tried to get his money out.

“From November 2021 to date I have made numerous email requests that Mr Pryde and his company account to me for monies due to me in accordance with the betting statements,” the man said in his affidavit.

“Mr Pryde has failed to repay any monies to me.”

The last betting statement in June 2022 said he was owed $564,733 less Pryde’s 20 per cent commission. The money never arrived, it is alleged.

In company documents lodged with ASIC, Pryde lists his address as Unit 709 in McLaren Apartments. There is no such apartment.

He lists his home address as a converted warehouse in Paddington but states on his Facebook page that he lives in Sheffield, England. He has told people he has recently returned from the US.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority said Simply the Bets had never been licensed to operate legally in Australia.

A spokesperson said they could not comment on whether entities or individuals are subject to online gambling compliance investigation.

A previous version of this article stated that Dean Jacobson was the son of entertainment entrepreneur Kevin Jacobsen and nephew of rock pioneer Col Joye. The Daily Telegraph has been informed that this is not correct. The article has been edited and The Daily Telegraph apologises for the error.