In the aftermath of a collapsed prize-draw company that left dozens of winners unpaid, its founder has quietly resurfaced with a new venture — raising questions about accountability, the limits of legal restriction, and the human cost of regulatory gaps. Anton Hall, declared bankrupt in November 2025 following the collapse of Level Up Giveaways, appears to have resumed managing competitions through a new platform, despite bankruptcy orders that prohibit such involvement. The story is less about one man's choices than about the wider failure of oversight in a growing, largely unregulated market
Bankrupt competitions boss launches new venture despite court restrictions
Multiple customers lost significant sums they believed they had won, causing financial and emotional distress during critical life events like weddings and business planning.
I cried my eyes out because I thought this is going to change my life
Mark
So the basic question is whether Anton Hall is actually running this new venture or just claiming to be an employee?
Mimi
That's exactly it. He says he's an employee, but the evidence suggests otherwise—the account is in his name, payments go to his account, and he's posting about sales figures and strategy on social media.
Luke
But we should be careful here. Raffall confirmed the account is in his name, but does that prove he's managing it? An employee could have a personal account that receives payments.
Mimi
True, but the social media posts are the real tell. He's openly discussing profit and loss, guiding the direction of the venture. That's management behavior, not employee behavior.
Mark
And this matters because of the bankruptcy order?
Mimi
Exactly. He's forbidden from running or indirectly managing a limited company. If he's actually managing this venture, he's breaking the law.
Luke
The question is whether Raffall competitions count as a limited company. He's using an independent platform, not his own company.
Mimi
That's the legal gray area. But the Insolvency Service has already been contacted about the account, so they're clearly concerned.
Mark
What about the people who lost money from Level Up Giveaways?
Mimi
They're stuck. Hall promised that if the new venture makes profit, he'd try to pay them back. But he also said he's made no net profit so far.
Luke
And we don't know if that's true. We only have his word on it.
Mark
So they're waiting for a bankrupt man to make money from a venture he claims he's not running, to pay debts from a company that already failed?
Mimi
That's the situation, yes. It's why Ami and Mel are angry.
O Pulso
- Winners like Ami Shuttleworth and Mel Higgins never received thousands of pounds they believed they had legitimately won, leaving them financially and emotionally adrift at pivotal moments in their lives.
- Within months of his company's court-ordered collapse, Hall launched a new prize-draw operation — a move that, if it constitutes management of a business, would breach his bankruptcy order and amount to a criminal offence.
- Hall insists he acted only as an employee through the Raffall platform, but his own social media posts discussing profit projections and sales figures tell a more complicated story of hands-on control.
- The Insolvency Service has contacted Raffall and is actively investigating Hall's activities, while Hall himself announced he would stop running competitions after the BBC made enquiries.
- With his bankruptcy restrictions expiring in November 2026 and no clear regulatory framework governing prize-draw operators, the structural conditions that enabled this situation remain largely intact.
In the aftermath of a collapsed prize-draw company that left dozens of winners unpaid, its founder has quietly resurfaced with a new venture — raising questions about accountability, the limits of legal restriction, and the human cost of regulatory gaps. Anton Hall, declared bankrupt in November 2025 following the collapse of Level Up Giveaways, appears to have resumed managing competitions through a new platform, despite bankruptcy orders that prohibit such involvement. The story is less about one man's choices than about the wider failure of oversight in a growing, largely unregulated market where ordinary people stake real hope on promised winnings.
Ami Shuttleworth had won £10,000 — enough, she and her fiancé believed, to pay off their wedding. Mel Higgins had won £5,000 and pictured clearing her debts and investing in her business. "I cried my eyes out because I thought, 'this is going to change my life'," Mel recalls. Neither woman ever saw a penny.
The company behind their competitions, Level Up Giveaways, was run by Anton Hall from Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. It wound up at the High Court in August 2025, overwhelmed by unpaid prizes, and Hall was declared bankrupt that November. Dozens of winners were left with nothing as the company's debts outpaced its ticket sales.
What followed compounded the injury. Within months, Hall launched a new prize-draw venture, announcing in a YouTube video that he would operate as an employee while someone else managed it. The evidence, however, pointed elsewhere. The Raffall account was registered in his name, payments went to his account, and his social media posts discussed sales figures, profit projections, and the venture's future direction — the language of someone in charge, not someone taking orders.
This distinction carries legal weight. Hall's bankruptcy order explicitly bars him from running, managing, or indirectly participating in a limited company. Breaching it would be a criminal offence. Raffall's founder confirmed the account and payments were in Hall's name and that the Insolvency Service had already been in touch about the account.
When the BBC approached Hall, he denied owning a company and said he was operating personally through Raffall as an employee. He later claimed the YouTube video predated his understanding of the bankruptcy restrictions, and that a proposed arrangement with another person had been abandoned once he grasped the legal situation. Shortly after being contacted, he posted on social media that he was stepping away from competitions entirely. "The raffle thing isn't worth putting my family through the drama," he wrote.
For Ami and Mel, the sequence felt like a second betrayal. Ami had spent months making call after call chasing her winnings, the stress shadowing her in the lead-up to her wedding. Mel was blunter about what she saw: "When you are that far into it you have got to pull the plug and stop taking money from people" — the same pattern, she suggested, that had brought Level Up Giveaways down in the first place.
Hall's bankruptcy restrictions expire on 7 November 2026. Any income he earns before then must be declared and could be directed toward repaying creditors. The Insolvency Service is investigating but has declined to comment publicly. Meanwhile, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has acknowledged prize draws as a significant and growing market — yet the regulatory gaps that allowed this situation to unfold, and then repeat itself, remain unaddressed.
Ami Shuttleworth was 34 when she learned she had won £10,000 in a pay-to-enter competition. She and her fiancé Chris Smith had immediate plans for the money—their wedding was going to be paid off. Mel Higgins, a driving consultant from Chippenham, had won £5,000 and imagined clearing her credit card debt, then investing in her business. "I cried my eyes out because I thought, 'this is going to change my life'," she recalls. Neither woman ever received a penny.
Level Up Giveaways, the company behind those competitions, was based in Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire and operated by Anton Hall, a 37-year-old entrepreneur. The firm wound up at the High Court in August 2025, buried under tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid prizes to customers. Hall himself was declared bankrupt in November 2025. The collapse left dozens of winners in limbo, their anticipated winnings evaporating as the company's debts mounted faster than ticket sales could cover them.
What happened next is what brought Ami to anger and Mel to disbelief. Within months of Level Up Giveaways collapsing, Hall launched a new prize-draw venture. He announced it in a YouTube video released in August, claiming he would operate as an employee of the new enterprise while someone else ran it. Yet the evidence tells a different story. The account on Raffall—an independent platform that hosts prize draws—was registered in Hall's name. Payments went to an account held in his name. In social media posts, he discussed sales figures, profit and loss projections, and the future direction of the venture. He appeared to be managing the draws personally.
This matters legally because Hall's bankruptcy order explicitly prohibits him from running, managing, or indirectly taking part in a limited company. Doing so would breach the terms of his bankruptcy and constitute a criminal offence. There is no restriction on a bankrupt person working as an employee, or operating as a sole trader—but the distinction hinges on genuine control and decision-making authority. Raffall's founder, Stelios Kounou, confirmed that the account was registered to Hall personally and that all payments had been made to his account. He also noted that Raffall had been contacted by the Insolvency Service, which manages Hall's bankruptcy, regarding the account.
When the BBC asked Hall directly about his involvement, he denied setting up or owning a limited company. He said he was running competitions "personally through the Raffall platform" as an employee. Later, he claimed the YouTube video had been recorded before he was aware of the bankruptcy proceedings and their restrictions. He said the proposed arrangement with another person "did not proceed" once he understood the legal situation. After being contacted by the BBC, Hall posted on social media that he would no longer be running competitions. "The raffle thing isn't worth putting my family through the drama," he wrote.
For Ami and Mel, the sequence of events felt like a betrayal compounded. Ami had made "phone call after phone call" chasing her £10,000, and the stress weighed on her in the months before her wedding. "It didn't take the shine off our wedding, but it's always going to be in the back of my mind how it could have changed it," she says. Mel was more direct about what she observed: "Fair enough things go wrong and people do make mistakes, but when you are that far into it you have got to pull the plug and stop taking money from people." She pointed to Hall's social media posts promoting competitions he claimed had undersold—the same pattern of behavior, she suggested, that had created the crisis in the first place.
Hall's 12-month bankruptcy restrictions will expire on November 7, 2026. Until then, he is required to declare any additional income to the trustee managing his bankruptcy. That money could be used to repay creditors over three years. When asked how he could promise future profits to unpaid winners from Level Up Giveaways, given his claimed status as an employee, Hall said the video had been made before he understood the restrictions. He also stated he had made no net profit from running the draws. The Insolvency Service, which is investigating his current activities, declined to comment on individual cases. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has described prize draws and competitions as a "significant and growing market," but the regulatory gaps that allowed Hall to operate Level Up Giveaways into insolvency, and then launch a successor venture, remain unresolved.
Citações Notáveis
It didn't take the shine off our wedding, but it's always going to be in the back of my mind how it could have changed it.— Ami Shuttleworth, unpaid winner from Level Up Giveaways
Fair enough things go wrong and people do make mistakes, but when you are that far into it you have got to pull the plug and stop taking money from people.— Mel Higgins, unpaid winner from Level Up Giveaways
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