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32Red handed £2 million penalty for failing to protect high-staking customer
By David Baxter
UPDATED 1:11PM, JUN 20 2018
Online bookmaker 32Red have been fined £2 million by the Gambling Commissionafter failing to protect a problem punter.
Between November 2014 and April 2017, the customer was allowed to deposit a total of £758,000, without the appropriate social responsibility and money laundering checks carried out.
Instead of checking whether the customer needed help with their problem, it was revealed that 32Red staff instead applied bonuses to the customer's account – despite 22 instances indicating he was a problem gambler.
The customer had told staff they were frustrated with their losses, and were chasing them. They also expressed concerns about the amounts they were spending.
It was revealed during the investigation that 32Red failed to check that the customer could afford their level of spending.
The customer's account was not reviewed until January 2017, as a result of unusual play suggestive of possible problem gambling – a seven-figure win, which was instantly replayed.
Gambling Commission penalties include...
888 £7.8 million
William Hill £6.2m
Camelot £3m
Ladbrokes Coral £2.3m
32Red £2m
Sky Bet £1m
Gala-Coral £846,000
Betfred £800,000
Leovegas £600,000
GVC Holdings £350,000
BGO £300,000
Paddy Power £280,000
Futgalaxy £265,000
Tabcorp (Sun Bets) £84,000
Stan James Online £80,000
Gambling Commission executive director Richard Watson said: "Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more – this is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing.
"Operators must take action when they spot signs of problem gambling and should be carefully reviewing all the customers they are having a high level of contact with.
"Protecting consumers from gambling-related harm is a priority for us and where we see operators failing in their responsibility to keep their customers safe we will take tough action."
By David Baxter
UPDATED 1:11PM, JUN 20 2018
Online bookmaker 32Red have been fined £2 million by the Gambling Commissionafter failing to protect a problem punter.
Between November 2014 and April 2017, the customer was allowed to deposit a total of £758,000, without the appropriate social responsibility and money laundering checks carried out.
Instead of checking whether the customer needed help with their problem, it was revealed that 32Red staff instead applied bonuses to the customer's account – despite 22 instances indicating he was a problem gambler.
The customer had told staff they were frustrated with their losses, and were chasing them. They also expressed concerns about the amounts they were spending.
It was revealed during the investigation that 32Red failed to check that the customer could afford their level of spending.
The customer's account was not reviewed until January 2017, as a result of unusual play suggestive of possible problem gambling – a seven-figure win, which was instantly replayed.
Gambling Commission penalties include...
888 £7.8 million
William Hill £6.2m
Camelot £3m
Ladbrokes Coral £2.3m
32Red £2m
Sky Bet £1m
Gala-Coral £846,000
Betfred £800,000
Leovegas £600,000
GVC Holdings £350,000
BGO £300,000
Paddy Power £280,000
Futgalaxy £265,000
Tabcorp (Sun Bets) £84,000
Stan James Online £80,000
Gambling Commission executive director Richard Watson said: "Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more – this is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing.
"Operators must take action when they spot signs of problem gambling and should be carefully reviewing all the customers they are having a high level of contact with.
"Protecting consumers from gambling-related harm is a priority for us and where we see operators failing in their responsibility to keep their customers safe we will take tough action."
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"Instead of checking on the welfare of a customer displaying problem gambling behaviour, 32Red encouraged the customer to gamble more – this is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to be doing.
Isn't that how they all work though? Lose a load of cash and the bonuses start to roll. How do you think they pick for their VIP days in their boxes at sporting events? It is purely down to how much that punter has lost or how much potential they have to do their proverbials.
I assume the GC only find out when someone tells them this has happened which is why you hardly hear of any cases, probably tens of thousands of problem gamblers who will never be identified due to it being more lower scale (money wise). You could still have someone doing £200 per week but has more issues than someone doing a £2k per week.
Isn't that how they all work though? Lose a load of cash and the bonuses start to roll. How do you think they pick for their VIP days in their boxes at sporting events? It is purely down to how much that punter has lost or how much potential they have to do their proverbials.
I assume the GC only find out when someone tells them this has happened which is why you hardly hear of any cases, probably tens of thousands of problem gamblers who will never be identified due to it being more lower scale (money wise). You could still have someone doing £200 per week but has more issues than someone doing a £2k per week.
VIP status is not done on how much you lose, it's how much you turnover and stake.
customer's account was only checked after a "seven figure win"
VIP status is not done on how much you lose, it's how much you turnover and stake
And you can only get decent stakes on if you are a losing punter, or take under the odds (will end up being a losing punter).
And you can only get decent stakes on if you are a losing punter, or take under the odds (will end up being a losing punter).
7 figure win alerted the traders and they were ready to close the account until the punter spu nked it all back.
@Magic_Daps
That's not actually true. Some bookmakers like winners, especially if they mark their cards.
That's not actually true. Some bookmakers like winners, especially if they mark their cards.
you think that's bad a postman over here in Ireland gambled 10 million yes 10 million with pp of stolen money, I haven't heard of a huge fine for them amazing.
i would like to know what exactly the gambling commission have done with all the fines?
@ashleigh
The penalty package consists of:
£709,046 divestment of the financial gain
£1.3million payment in lieu of a financial penalty, which we would otherwise impose for breaches of a licence condition in accordance with our Statement of principles for determining financial penalties. The money will be spent on accelerating delivery of the National Responsible Gambling Strategy
Payment of £15,000 towards our investigative costs
Improvements to policy, procedure and risk management.
The penalty package consists of:
£709,046 divestment of the financial gain
£1.3million payment in lieu of a financial penalty, which we would otherwise impose for breaches of a licence condition in accordance with our Statement of principles for determining financial penalties. The money will be spent on accelerating delivery of the National Responsible Gambling Strategy
Payment of £15,000 towards our investigative costs
Improvements to policy, procedure and risk management.
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