The Gambling Commission (GC) has ordered Betfred to pay a regulatory settlement of £900,000 for social responsibility failures deemed ‘unacceptable’.
An investigation into Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, which operates Betfred, was launched by the GC after a compliance assessment conducted between May and June 2024 discovered social responsibility failures in the business’s policies and procedures.
Failures by the operator found by the commission included not having sufficient processes:
- To spot harm indicators with an automated process, such as spend, time spent gambling and patterns of spend.
- To ensure immediate and automated action took place to minimise harm when strong harm indicators were identified.
- To flag a customer’s account for a further safer gambling review after seven days, once it had initially been flagged for a review.
One customer received an interaction after surpassing a deposit trigger, but then no further action was taken. The customer went on to deposit and lose a further £17,900 within the next 24 hours without any further intervention.
GC calls failures ‘unacceptable’
Speaking about the regulatory settlement, the commission’s Director of Enforcement, John Pierce, described Betfred’s failures as ‘unacceptable’.
Pierce said: “Diligent implementation of effective policies and procedures are the cornerstones of safer gambling in Britain. The Commission found that Petfre didn’t have sufficiently effective procedures in place, meaning some customers displaying markers of harm were not contacted quickly enough.
“While the gaps we identified were unacceptable, the licensee acted swiftly to implement interim mitigating controls to address our immediate concerns. They have since delivered an appropriate action plan and taken significant steps to assure the Commission that their current operating model meets our requirements.
“The failure to implement an effective monitoring framework to identify and contact consumers at risk of harm at pace has resulted in a significant regulatory settlement. We expect all operators to learn from this case and read the public statement to ensure they do not make the same mistakes.”
Betfred committed to safe gambling
Betfred’s regulatory settlement, in lieu of a £900,000 financial penalty, will be directed to the Consolidated Fund.
A Betfred spokesperson told SBC in response to the settlement: “Following a review of our online business in 2024, we have agreed a settlement with the Gambling Commission.
“We fully cooperated with the investigation and swiftly put in an action plan to remedy the identified failings. Betfred is committed to ensuring a safe gambling experience for all our customers.”
Back in October last year, a £240,000 penalty was handed to Betfred for having online slot features which breached its remote technical standards, including ‘hosting games which failed to display the consumer’s net position and games which celebrated losses as wins’.
The operator’s land-based operations, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, also received a £825,000 fine in December after an investigation found failures related to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML).
Betfred was also warned that it would undergo a third-party audit to ensure AML and safer gambling policies, procedures and controls are being implemented effectively.