This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43566166
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Sky Bet failed to protect vulnerable customers, says watchdog | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Sky Bet has been fined £1m for "failing to protect vulnerable customers", the Gambling Commission has said. | |
| It did not stop problem gamblers even after they had asked to be banned from its websites, the watchdog said. | |
| Sky Bet chief executive Richard Flint said the firm accepted that it "needed to do more" to stop self-excluded gamblers from opening duplicate accounts. | Sky Bet chief executive Richard Flint said the firm accepted that it "needed to do more" to stop self-excluded gamblers from opening duplicate accounts. |
| He added that Sky Bet had tried to return the money that was gambled. | He added that Sky Bet had tried to return the money that was gambled. |
| People who feel they are having trouble controlling their gambling can ask betting firms to refuse their service. | People who feel they are having trouble controlling their gambling can ask betting firms to refuse their service. |
| But 736 self-excluded Sky Bet customers were able to open and use duplicate accounts, the Gambling Commission said. | |
| In addition, about 50,000 people who had excluded themselves received marketing emails, texts or push notifications through a mobile app. | |
| And 36,748 customers did not get the balance on their account returned after self-excluding. | And 36,748 customers did not get the balance on their account returned after self-excluding. |
| Richard Watson, Gambling Commission programme director, said: "This was a serious failure affecting thousands of potentially vulnerable customers and the £1m penalty package should serve as a warning to all gambling businesses. | Richard Watson, Gambling Commission programme director, said: "This was a serious failure affecting thousands of potentially vulnerable customers and the £1m penalty package should serve as a warning to all gambling businesses. |
| "Sky Bet reported the issues to us quickly, co-operated with us and has taken this investigation seriously." | "Sky Bet reported the issues to us quickly, co-operated with us and has taken this investigation seriously." |
| Betting temptation | Betting temptation |
| Matt, a trainee accountant from London, started gambling as soon as he turned 18. He says he lost as much as £30,000. | Matt, a trainee accountant from London, started gambling as soon 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 programme. | "It's a 'lad culture' thing," the 22-year-old recently told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. |
| "You can't go to the pub on a Saturday afternoon without having the football on the TV, and then obviously there's adverts that come on and you get the urge to bet. | "You can't go to the pub on a Saturday afternoon without having the football on the TV, and then obviously there's adverts that come on and you get the urge to bet. |
| "I couldn't watch a game of football without having a bet on it. | "I couldn't watch a game of football without having a bet on it. |
| "It was embarrassing to open up [to friends] and say, 'I'm really struggling with this gambling problem.' They were involved in gambling as well," he said. | "It was embarrassing to open up [to friends] and say, 'I'm really struggling with this gambling problem.' They were involved in gambling as well," he said. |
| Mr Flint said Sky Bet had notified the Gambling Commission when the firm had noticed the issue. | Mr Flint said Sky Bet had notified the Gambling Commission when the firm had noticed the issue. |
| "We could and should have made it harder for self-excluded customers to open duplicate accounts with us and for that we are sorry. | "We could and should have made it harder for self-excluded customers to open duplicate accounts with us and for that we are sorry. |
| "We fully agree with the Gambling Commission's findings and will donate the agreed sum to charities for socially responsible purposes. | "We fully agree with the Gambling Commission's findings and will donate the agreed sum to charities for socially responsible purposes. |
| "We want to reassure people that we have not made any profit out of this episode," Mr Flint said. | "We want to reassure people that we have not made any profit out of this episode," Mr Flint said. |
| He added that Sky Bet had increased resources "and focus on helping our customers to gamble safely", including a TV and online advertising campaign. | He added that Sky Bet had increased resources "and focus on helping our customers to gamble safely", including a TV and online advertising campaign. |
| Sky Bet also had "a team of 60 people monitoring accounts for unusual behaviour," he said. | Sky Bet also had "a team of 60 people monitoring accounts for unusual behaviour," he said. |
| The Leeds-based operation, which is majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners, runs sites including Sky Vegas and Sky Bingo. | 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 industry is planning to let people who want to self-exclude use a single website from spring 2018. | |
| The scheme, which all operators will be required to offer, is called Gamstop. | |
| At present, gamblers have to contact every company they hold an account with to ask to be excluded. |