Sky Bet stopped working to safeguard susceptible customers, states guard dog

Sky Bet is to pay ₤ 1m for "stopping working to protect susceptible customers", the Gambling Commission has said.

It did not stop issue gamblers even after they had actually asked to be banned from its websites, the watchdog said.

Sky Bet president Richard Flint said the company accepted that it "needed to do more" to stop self-excluded gamblers from opening replicate accounts.

He added that Sky Bet had tried to return the money in their accounts.

People who feel they are having difficulty managing their betting can ask wagering firms to decline their service.

But 736 self-excluded Sky Bet customers were able to open and utilize replicate accounts, the Gambling Commission stated.

In addition, about 50,000 individuals who had actually omitted themselves got marketing e-mails, texts or push notices through a mobile app.

And 36,748 consumers did not get the balance on their account returned after self-excluding.

Richard Watson, Gambling Commission programme director, stated: "This was a major failure impacting countless possibly vulnerable customers and the ₤ 1m penalty plan ought to serve as a warning to all betting services.

"Sky Bet reported the concerns to us quickly, co-operated with us and has actually taken this investigation seriously."

Betting temptation

Matt, a student accountant from London, started betting as quickly as he turned 18. He says he lost as much as ₤ 30,000.

"It's a 'lad culture' thing," the 22-year-old just recently told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.

"You can't go to the bar on a Saturday afternoon without having the football on the TV, and then undoubtedly there's adverts that come on and you get the urge to wager.

"I couldn't enjoy a video game of football without having a bet on it.

"It was humiliating to open up [to buddies] and state, 'I'm actually struggling with this gambling issue.' They were associated with betting also," he stated.

Gambling: Financial fun or costly excess?

Mr Flint stated Sky Bet had actually alerted the Gambling Commission when the yohaig code firm had discovered the concern.

"In this case, we didn't make it sufficiently hard for people to open up duplicate accounts, and for that, we have actually apologised, it's unsatisfactory. We might and should have done more," he told the BBC. "It is embarrassing for us."

Customers were able to open up duplicate accounts by at first providing false details, then contacting the contact centre with accurate details, and validating that details with precise documentation.

"We at that time didn't have proper procedures in location to inspect that there wasn't already an existing account that was a replicate and was self-excluded," Mr Flint stated.

the yohaig code company also didn't have "adequate segregation" in its databases which resulted in inappropriate marketing, he said.

The firm will contribute the ₤ 1m to charities for socially responsible functions, Mr Flint stated in a statement

"We wish to assure people that we have actually not made any earnings out of this episode," Mr Flint said.

He added that Sky Bet had increased resources "and focus on assisting our customers to bet safely", including a television and online ad campaign.

Sky Bet likewise had "a group of [more than] 60 people keeping track of accounts for uncommon behaviour," he stated.

The Leeds-based operation, which is majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners, runs sites including Sky Vegas and Sky Bingo.

According to figures released in November, more gamblers are opting to "ban" themselves from gambling, with more than a million requests in 2016.

The market is preparing to let people who want to self-exclude use a single site from spring 2018.

The plan, which all operators will be required to provide, is called Gamstop, external.

At present, gamblers have to contact every business they hold an account with to ask to be left out.

Gambling guard dog thinks about credit card ban

27 March 2018

Why the gambling market faces an unsure future