Sky Bet failed to safeguard susceptible customers, states watchdog

Sky Bet is to pay ₤ 1m for "stopping working to safeguard vulnerable clients", the Gambling Commission has said.

It did not stop problem bettors even after they had actually asked to be banned from its websites, the guard dog said.

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

He included that Sky Bet had attempted to return the cash in their accounts.

People who feel they are having problem managing their gaming can ask wagering companies to refuse their service.

But 736 self-excluded Sky Bet consumers were able to open and use duplicate accounts, the Gambling Commission said.

In addition, about 50,000 people who had excluded themselves got marketing e-mails, texts or push alerts through a mobile app.

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

Richard Watson, Gambling Commission program director, stated: "This was a severe failure affecting thousands of potentially vulnerable customers and the ₤ 1m charge bundle ought to act as a warning to all betting organizations.

"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, began 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 recently told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire program.

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

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

"It was humiliating to open up [to friends] and state, 'I'm actually battling with this betting issue.' They were associated with gambling as well," he stated.

Gambling: Financial fun or expensive excess?

Mr Flint stated Sky Bet had alerted the Gambling Commission when the company had observed the concern.

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

Customers were able to open duplicate accounts by at first supplying incorrect details, then calling the contact centre with accurate details, and validating that details with accurate documents.

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

The firm also didn't have "adequate segregation" in its databases which led to improper marketing, he stated.

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

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

He included that Sky Bet had actually increased resources "and concentrate on assisting our customers to bet safely", consisting of a television and online ad campaign.

Sky Bet also had "a team of [more than] 60 people monitoring represent uncommon behaviour," he stated.

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

According to figures launched in November, more bettors are opting to "prohibit" themselves from betting, with more than a million requests in 2016.

the yohaig code industry is preparing to let individuals who want to self-exclude usage a single website from spring 2018.

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

At present, gamblers have to call every company they hold an account with to ask to be omitted.

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