Alan Bentley, a previous television presenter for the UK’s Sky Sports channel, is undergoing a criminal inquiry following the failure of his sports betting investment program, which resulted in investors losing £10 million (US$12.7 million). 

Bentley, employed by Sky Sports from 1997 to 2001, asserted that he created a unique AI algorithm named “Algol88” capable of forecasting soccer match outcomes while “continuously enhancing and innovating the foundational assumptions and tactics.” 

He urged people to buy high-yield bonds in his firm Bentley Global, promoted as delivering guaranteed annual returns of 12% to 20%, irrespective of match results. 

Promotional content characterized the scheme as an asset class “entirely unlinked to external economic influences” — wording that framed it as a secure, fixed-income investment, instead of a risky gambling endeavor. 

Football Star Ambassador 

To enhance credibility, Bentley’s company included former England international footballer Peter Reid, who later became a manager and pundit, as a member of its team in promotional materials. Casino.org has not been able to get in touch with Reid for a statement. 

The mix of financial terminology, celebrity support, and AI branding enabled Bentley to secure slightly more than £10 million from investors from 2016 to 2020. 

By 2022, Bentley Global had fallen apart. An investigation by the Insolvency Service of the UK government found no proof that the company made any soccer bets from late 2019 to early 2020, even though it secured roughly £1.6 million from investors during that time. 

The agency reported that the company earned no trading revenue and experienced losses exceeding £9 million in the previous two years. 

AI 'Was Nonexistent' 

Additional examination by the insolvency firm Begbies Traynor revealed no proof that “Algol88” existed, at least in the way it was promoted to investors. 

“While it was initially assumed that Algol88 was a piece of software, we have since received conformation that it is actually a very short set of trading rules,” it stated.

The report mentioned that approximately £3.5 million was disbursed to initial investors in 2019, representing 41% of the total invested by bondholders up to that point.

"The sheer value of payments being made to introducers [early investors] could be seen as a typical hallmark of a Ponzi scheme,” the report suggested.

Earlier this month, Bentley was prohibited from serving as a company director in the UK for 11 years according to British corporate governance regulations. 

Although he hasn't faced fraud allegations, the Essex Police's criminal investigation into Bentley Global continues.