Betting firm U-turns on fine
THE gambling giant accused of using a ‘blatant’ legal loophole to dodge a £3.5million fine after the suicide of a young addict yesterday performed a dramatic U-turn.
Chris Bruney, 25, took his own life hours after being plied with £400 of bonuses by staff at Winner.co.uk, an online casino owned by Playtech.
He lost £119,000 in the five days before his death but was still allowed to gamble.
On Wednesday it emerged that regulator the Gambling Commission cannot fine Playtech because last year bosses shut the subsidiary that ran the Winner brand. But yesterday, in a victory for the Daily Mail’s campaign on gambling, Playtech bowed to pressure and said it would pay the fine in full.
The boss of the £800million firm will also make a personal apology to Mr Bruney’s family and partner. It followed anger from the readers of this newspaper, MPs, addiction charities and a Church of England bishop.
Yesterday Mr Bruney’s mother, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We are pleased Playtech have finally paid what they should. Thank you to the Daily Mail for its tenacious campaigning.’
Her son, a successful electrical engineer from Sheffield, was given £4,500 in cash bonuses and 120 ‘free spins’ in the five days before he died. He had been designated as a ‘VIP’ player, because of the amount he was betting, which entitled him to cash bonuses and an Apple Watch.
The Bruneys have asked that the £3.5million is donated to their charity Gambling with Lives.