Betting giant to pay £2m over serious welfare failings

Paddy Power Betfair has been sanctioned by the industry regulator for systematically failing to protect customers from gambling harm.

The operator has been fined a £2 million penalty by the Gambling Commission after systems to identify and address harm were found to be ineffective.

In 2023, Paddy Power Betfair was fined £490,000 for sending ‘push notifications’ to self-excluding customers.

High stakes

An investigation by the regulator found that “systems the licensees had in place were not sensitive enough to identify indicators of harm”.

One customer, it reported, “staked £86,000 over a 16-day period during which time they lost £6,000. Despite the high velocity of spend, no manual review of the account took place”.

Another “lost £12,300 in five weeks before being identified for an interaction”, while a third deposited £25,000 in 25 days before Paddy Power Betfair intervened.

Gambling harms

Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment claimed: “Customer safety is our No 1 priority and there is no suggestion that any of the customers reviewed by the Gambling Commission experienced any harm.”

But Commission Director of Enforcement John Pierce said: “This £2 million settlement reflects the seriousness of the failings identified and the importance of meeting social responsibility and customer interaction standards.”

He stated that the “failings should never have occurred” and warned over-reliance “on automation and failure to intervene when clear harm indicators are present exposes consumers to unnecessary risk”.

No change

At a 2023 inquest, Betfair came under fire after one of its customers – a recovering gambling addict – committed suicide following a relapse.

Leicester area coroner Ivan Cartwright found that Luke Ashton’s “gambling disorder” contributed to his death and that Betfair “may have changed the outcome” if it had taken more steps than just sending him automatic “awareness” emails.

Cartwright recorded: “I remain concerned that the algorithm devised and operated by Betfair to assist its staff in, amongst other things, observing and monitoring the gambling patterns and practices of its customers failed to flag up Mr Ashton as a problem gambler.”