Record £11m f ine for betting giant that gambled with lives
A MAJOR online bookmaker has been handed the biggest fine in UK gambling history following a Daily Mail investigation into the tactics it used to ‘groom’ its biggest losers.
The Gambling Commission has fined Betway £11.6million for failing to protect addicts and allowing stolen money to be used to gamble.
The regulator issued the record penalty after this newspaper gave it a dossier of evidence. It found that Betway, which sponsors English Premier League football club West Ham United, allowed punters to bet £5.8 million of stolen money.
Three senior executives are under investigation and they could be sacked if found to have broken industry rules.
The commission said the failings were ‘systemic’ and lasted for more than four years – between November 2014 and March last year.
So widespread were Betway’s failings that the regulator could not say how many customers had been affected.
Commission executive director Richard Watson said: ‘The actions of Betway suggest there was little regard for the welfare of its VIP customers or the impact on those around them.’
The fine dwarfs the £7.8 million paid by betting firm 888 in 2017, the £6.2million levied on William Hill in 2018, and the £5.9million demanded of Ladbrokes Coral owner GVC last year.
It comes after in-depth investigations into the accounts of seven gamblers, three of whom spent stolen money on Betway’s site.
In the most severe case, senior Betway bosses allowed a customer to keep betting after he lost £4million, despite not being able to prove where his money was coming from.
In a second case, revealed by this newspaper, father-of-two Ben Jones, 30, stole £370,000 from his employer as Betway staff sent him hundreds of friendly messages to encourage him to bet.
His wife Rebecca, 29, said last night: ‘Thank you to the Daily Mail for bringing our case to public attention and pushing the commission to punish this rogue company. This fine barely scratches the surface of the pain this company have caused. It should have been £11.6million for [what happened to Ben] alone.’
In another case, Betway failed to check on a customer who lost £187,000 in two days despite having ‘no regular source of income’.
Last night, politicians and campaigners said the firm’s fine is only 4 per cent of its £320 million annual turnover. Labour MP Carolyn Harris, chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling, said: ‘Just how exploitative has a gambling company got to be before the Gambling Commission suspends their licence?’
Adam Bradford, of the Safer Online Gambling Group, said: ‘Betway’s licence should be suspended pending further investigation. It is completely unacceptable that such systemic failures are continuing to happen.’
Last month it was revealed that South African gambling tycoon
Martin Moshal was one of the owners of Betway, which is registered through a shell company in the British Virgin Islands.
Betway chief executive Anthony Werkman said: ‘Betway has no interest in profiting from stolen funds wagered on its sites. Where we establish that stolen funds have been used, we will ensure the victim is fully reimbursed.’
The company will pay £5.8million to the victims of crimes committed by players, and £5.8 million to help reduce gambling harm.