Web casino ‘ let addict spend £20k on mother’s debit card’
An Online casino accepted £20,000 from a gambling addict who stole the money from his mother, it was claimed yesterday.
the problem gambler was reportedly inundated with emails to encourage him to continue betting.
the user had his account locked by leoVegas in May last year after a customer service worker flagged up concerning behaviour.
despite the suspension, the award-winning mobile gaming firm’s sister companies were said to have continued to bombard him with up to four emails a day offering bonuses and ‘free spins’.
the Gambling commission is investigating the shocking claims.
the account was suspended days after leoVegas was slapped with a £600,000 fine from the regulator for separate incidents of accepting bets from problem gamblers, the Guardian reported.
in January this year, following months of receiving the emails, the gambler set up a new account with 21.co.uk, which is part of the leo Gaming group.
He registered with his mother’s bank details, but used the same name and email address registered to his suspended account.
Before the website asked to verify his identification he had already lost £20,000.
His account was eventually blocked when the firm realised he had been betting using someone else’s details. But sister companies in the same group resumed sending him marketing emails from a host of sites, offering refunds on losses and more free spins.
As well as using his mother’s debit card without permission, the gambling addict had racked up huge personal debts from payday lenders such as 247Moneybox, Satsuma and Myjar, the newspaper reported.
labour’s deputy leader, tom Watson, who is pushing for tighter controls on online gambling, told the Guardian: ‘it makes no sense for gambling companies to be doing id and affordability checks after gamblers have lost huge sums rather than before they’ve placed the bets.
‘the whole system seems the wrong way round. We also need to see immediate action to scrap credit card betting and end the practice of bombarding gambling addicts with gambling ads.’
A Gambling commission spokesman said: ‘We are absolutely clear with operators about the rules that they must follow to prevent and protect their customers from experiencing harm from gambling.
‘Where we see evidence that those rules are not being followed, we will investigate.’
the investigation comes as the Government concludes its review of whether regulations covering online betting should be made stricter through stronger id checks and banning gambling on credit.
A daily Mail exposé in February revealed how betting firms entice customers by routinely rewarding them with cash returns on big losses.
Under current rules, online casinos and bookmakers are not required to check whether punters can afford their bets before allowing them to gamble.
Ministers are under pressure to tighten legislation as figures show there are 480,000 problem gamblers in the UK and a further two million at risk. leoVegas was contacted for comment.