A former betting manufacture professional who stole almost £20,000 (US$22,700) from his former friend, the Brits poker player Gospel According to Luke Brereton, has been spared a prison house sentence.

Amer Siddique, 38, was handed 12-months of community table service with a demand that he sway out 150 hours of volunteer(a) work. That’s after he pleaded hangdog to dupery by untrue representation at Chester Crown Court this week.

The theft took localize inwards Oct 2018 when US-based Brereton returned to the UK to fete his birthday, according to courtyard documents. During dejeuner together, Siddique booked a develop just the ticket for Brereton using Brereton’s debit card, which allowed him to obtain his friend’s bank building details.

Over the next three weeks, Siddique drained Brereton’s account of £19,399, which he ploughed onto the William Alfred Hawthorne sports betting platform, losing all the money.

Brereton is a successful participant who has, to date, US$1.5 trillion inwards meshing tournament winnings, according to the Hendon Mob Database.

But having lived inward America for the best part of a decade, his UK bank building account statement contained only when £19,700, leaving him with simply £300.

‘Mate, i F***ed Up’

Only after he returned to the US, did Brereton realize something was wrong. He called the bank building to expect it to position a stopover on the card.

Then, on November 16, he received the following WhatsApp content from Siddique.

“Mate, I f***ed up. I testament compensate it back. Gambling got out of hand. i f***ed up.”

Brereton gave Siddique legion(p) opportunities to repay the money, but his messages were unheeded and he was blocked  on societal media, according to prosecutors. The fire hook pro has non received a cent to this day, tribunal records show. He launched civic proceedings and contacted natural law enforcement in the UK.

I’m heartbroken as Amer was such a closemouthed friend,” Brereton said inwards a financial statement to British people police. “I turn over myself a loyal and trusty person, but I experience this was misplaced with him.

“Being a pro salamander participant may seem to an outsider to live easy money, but it’s not. I have got worked really knockout to develop and hold on a carry of it and it takes years of edifice and sacrifice. The money in that bank account statement was my intact UK meshing worth.”

Undergoing Treatment

In mitigation, Saddique’s lawyer, Julian Farley, said his client had been undergoing treatment for a gaming disorder and planned to repay the money, having started a young job.

“He clear regrets what has happened. It is an unpleasant offence to get along that to a friend and he knows that,” Farley said. “He has net ball himself and his folk downward and he has lost a lifetime friend he has enjoyed spending clip with.”

Siddique’s calling saw him workings at William J. J. Hill and Sky Betting & Gaming, before moving to Bet365 as a sports trader, according to his now-defunct LinkedIn page.