Gambler who lost £125k ‘made VIP by web casinos’
A CITY accountant was offered bonuses, free tickets to Wembley and ‘VIP status’ as she lost £125,000 gambling online.
The woman, 42, known only as Katie, has accused online casinos – LeoVegas and Casumo – of allowing her to bet hundreds of thousands even though she showed obvious signs of addiction.
She was made a VIP customer by both companies without being subjected to affordability checks, and was showered with ‘ free spins’, it is claimed. Casumo offered her free tickets to events at Wembley Arena and sent her light-hearted messages as her heavy losses continued. But when she complained that the company had not intervened earlier, an employee called her a ‘ p****’, internal communications showed.
The former addict, who was forced to seek treatment, claims her betting patterns showed consistent behaviours that should have alerted the betting companies to her problem gambling.
Her case, which is thought to be the subject of an inquiry by the Gambling Commission, has emerged as politicians and campaigners call for tougher regulation of online gambling and betting on credit. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 documentary series My Name Is..., Katie said: ‘They have algorithms where if you’re spending a lot they make you a VIP, or send you a bonus email and they use that to their advantage. They could also use it to prevent problem gambling, which is what the Commission say they should be doing.’ Katie started gambling after signing off from her job in the City of London due to stress. While unemployed in June 2017 she started betting online after seeing TV adverts – but within months her gambling had spiralled. In October 2017, she made dozens of wagers of up to £5,000 with Casumo, receiving three bonus offers even as she lost control.
It took 11 hours for the company to notice her unusual betting behaviour and send her an email - and even after this she gambled a further £7,000.
They eventually blocked her account when she told a customer representative she felt ‘suicidal’. Later that year she signed up to LeoVegas – who gave her VIP status and allowed her to keep betting using multiple credit cards, despite 291 failed deposit attempts and more than £27,000 of cancelled withdrawals.
In a non-stop 24-hour spree, she placed £383,000 of bets during a non- stop session, losing £54,000 on a slot machine game. By January she had placed more than £1million of bets and lost £94,000.
The Commission has already fined Casumo £5.85million and LeoVegas £600,000 for breaching gambling rules both last year. Both casinos said they do not comment on individual cases. Casumo said it continues to develop its processes and training to protect vulnerable players. LeoVegas said it follows strict ‘policies to ensure compliance with our legal obligations’.
William Hill boss Philip Bowcock has admitted the gambling industry’s advertising strategies could be harming young people. He said: ‘It is essential we do our utmost to address [this problem]. If that means taking some shortterm commercial hits, so be it.’