Problem punters can lie to evade checks

BET365 uses a simple Yes/No questionnaire in seeking to identify problem gamblers – but campaigners warned that addicts can easily lie their way through it.

Players who hit certain triggers, such as excessive lengths of time spent gambling, are called up and asked eight questions.

They include: ‘Do you gamble to escape a boring or unhappy life?’, ‘Do you feel depressed or even suicidal because of you gambling?’, ‘Have you lost interest in your family, friends or hobbies because of your gambling?’ and ‘After losing do you feel you must try and win back your losses as soon as possible?’

If punters reply yes to any of the questions, trainee staff were told their accounts are suspended. But if they say no, their accounts remain active and they are allowed to carry on playing.

The biggest trigger is time spent playing, the Mail’s reporter was told during our investigation.

The Bet365 training officer said the minimum time-playing threshold used to be six out of seven days of playing for more than eight hours, but that the limit ‘changes all the time’. Asked by the Mail’s reporter what measures are in place to prevent customers lying through the simple test, the trainer said: ‘There aren’t.’

She then agreed with another trainee when she said: ‘We’ve done our job to check them.’

Length of time spent playing is not the only trigger used to identify problem gamblers. Other triggers include when a customer changes a deposit limit, when they return for self-exclusion, or when their account is suspended for any responsible gambling concern.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, of the Campaign for Fairer Gambling, said: ‘It’s an inadequate test. Gambling addicts lie and they delude themselves, it’s all part of the problem. They could easily lie their way through the test. If a time-playing threshold is eight hours on six out of seven days then that is too high. People could spend half that time playing and still have a serious problem.’