Farage aide loses $550,000 betting on Iran war

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/03/05/farage-aide-loses-550000-betting-on-iran-war/

Posted by pppppppppppppppppd

23 Comments

  1. PerspectiveStill1272 on

    So wholesome to see anyone involved with farage losing tons of money betting in war.

  2. pppppppppppppppppd on

    Wasn’t even aware betting existed for this sort of thing before seeing this. What an utterly odious way to try to make money.

  3. Ill_Refrigerator_593 on

    That’s nothing, in the past he apparently lost £16 million in a single game of poker.

    [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/03/george-cottrell-nigel-farage-reform-uk-montenegro](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/03/george-cottrell-nigel-farage-reform-uk-montenegro)

    He’s also spent time in the US for money laundering.

    [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37082533](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37082533)

  4. He’s is a little bit more than an ‘aide’ he is his senior advisor and also a convicted felon who in 2016 was indicted on 21 counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud, blackmail, and extortion.

    Oh and according to Tatler he sometimes calls Farage Daddy, what is it with the hard right weirdos wanting to be called Daddy?

  5. PursuitOfMemieness on

    Does anyone believe for a second that they’d stop if they were in power and actually had access to insider information?

  6. We would be so incredibly fucked if these guys got anywhere near Westminster.

    If even the Torygraph is reporting on Reforms repulsive behaviour you know the tide is turning

  7. Lunchy_Bunsworth on

    Is “aristorcratic banker” a new piece of Cockney rhyming slang of which I am unaware ? /s

  8. This shouldn’t be legal.

    If people can make huge amounts of money from a war happening, you’ve created a direct financial incentive for conflict. Betting markets on sports or elections are one thing, but betting on events that involve real deaths and military action crosses a pretty obvious ethical line. Ban it, ban it now.

  9. What a morally bankrupt way to try to earn money. Everyone involved with reform just seem to be bereft of any decency.

  10. polymarket had to close down a market they were offering from the outrage it caused just yesterday.

    They were taking bets on a nuclear weapon detonation happening. from memory, when it closed they had it as a 5% chance by the end of the month, 11% by the end of june and 22% by the end of the year.

  11. George Cottrell, an aristocratic banker, convicted fraudster and backer of the Reform UK leader, lost $550,000 (£411,000) last month after placing a wager on the Polymarket trading platform that the US would not bomb the Middle Eastern country.

    I mean, bold choice I guess. How drunk to you have to be to make that bet?  Trump changes his mind every other second. Regardless of the moral question 

  12. indoubitabley on

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

    Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha haha.

    Har ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

    Ha ha ha.

    Twat.

  13. Difficult_Bad1064 on

    I’d be more interested in knowing who the big winners were on this bet.

  14. GUNGEBOB_SHARTPANTS on

    From Wikipedia:

    > Cottrell’s indictment states how in 2014, he met with undercover federal agents in Las Vegas, where he conspired to launder millions of dollars’ worth of drug money using offshore bank accounts

    Absolute yikes that this guy is advising anyone. Reform are an absolute bunch of snakes who will rob us blind if they get anywhere near power

  15. You can bet on this sort of thing? Some people have absolutely no moral compass.

  16. Why are they betting on wars? Another good reason to keep these out of government

  17. > George Cottrell, an aristocratic banker, convicted fraudster and backer of the Reform UK leader, lost $550,000 (£411,000) last month after placing a wager on the Polymarket trading platform that the US would not bomb the Middle Eastern country.

    The fact you can even bet on wars is mind boggling but i’m not surprised someone like him would be someone to do it.

  18. ash_ninetyone on

    Good

    I know the defence industries do profit off war. Comes with the territory to be honest, they need weapons, gotta come from somewhere.

    But betting on it? Just seems next level scummy behaviour. Kinda like those people on that website that were betting on armageddon (as if anything, even money, would have any value when we’re stuck bartering for scrap in a waste land)