The Tricky Issue Of Problem Gambling

31 August 2017
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Dearbail JordanBusiness press reporter


For David Bradford, his betting addiction had actually got as bad as it perhaps could.


The 57 year-old remained in jail for fraud after stealing ₤ 50,000. His practice had cost his family their home and left them buried under ₤ 500,000 of financial obligation.


For 888. com, however, there was more to be had out of David Bradford.


While he sat in jail, his boy Adam saw that the online gaming business was sending out adverts to his father's cellphone, at an expense of ₤ 5 a time.


Adam Bradford states: "After calling them six times and pleading with them, they switched off the text after almost ₤ 100 worth of charges."


Dr Carolyn Downs, senior lecturer at Lancaster University who is a professional on the betting market, estimates that there are around 500,000 people in the UK with a "extreme" addition.


"And for each of those people with severe issues, you're taking a look at 4 or five other family members being seriously impacted. Who perhaps do not understand that their relative is an issue gambler till they lose the home," she informed BBC Radio 4's Today programme.


Theft


On Thursday, 888 Holdings, which owns 888. com, was fined a record ₤ 7.8 m by the Gambling Commission for stopping working to safeguard thousands of susceptible customers who had tried to "self-exclude" themselves from their sites.


The regulator likewise punished 888 for stopping working to acknowledge issue that led to a single person stealing ₤ 55,000 from their employer.


Sarah Harrison, chief executive of the regulator, said: "Messages like this send out a strong signal to business like 888 and every gambling operator that the Gambling Commission will take tough action against business who do not fulfill the guidelines."


However, the Gambling Commission wouldn't have actually learnt about any of these problems had 888 Holdings not stepped forward in the first place.


In the regulator's public statement on the matter, it states that it was 888 Holdings who notified the commission about the technical problem on 28 February 2017.


Asked how it ensures that gambling business are following a code of practice which requires them to put self-exclusion procedures in location as well as identifying at threat consumers, the regulator, said: "The commission performs routine compliance activity in a variety of ways.


"In addition, we sometimes act on details from clients or operators themselves that prompts us to perform an examination, as in this case."


Self-exclusion or deception?


In 888's case, the fault lay with a technical problem.


Customers with recognized problems had actually efficiently obstructed themselves from betting on the poker, casino and sports websites.


But they still had access to the bingo sites.


However, even with this loophole now closed, there stays a larger industry issue with self-exclusion, states Dr Downs.


She said: "It was tough to do with online betting, even to discover a location on a website to really go to tell them you wish to self-exclude ... it frequently needs an awful great deal of clicks with a mouse around the website to discover a place."


And simply because a person is excluded from one ways of betting, it doesn't give them any defense versus other techniques.


In some instances, self-exclusion is merely farcical.


Tony Franklin, a recovering gambling addict and a campaigner, says: "Self-exclusion from betting shops is paper-based so they are reliant on you offering a photo of yourself. Then, it might just be circulated to a small number of betting stores in the location."


It is extremely simple to go to another town to wager, he states, and it is extremely hard for the people operating in bookies to police their clients.


Dr Downs proposed a national register for self-exclusion: "The Gambling Commission could run this," she states: "If you desired to self-exclude you would send your information off on an easy form to the Gambling Commission and they would let everyone know your email address."


But she adds: "I do not think there's any sort of will for that action. Problem bettors offer many of the profit for the betting industry which's truly quite popular."


The Gambling Commission says the market is dealing with a nationwide "online multi-operator self-exclusion scheme" which it is intends to have in place by 2018.


At the moment, consumers must to each private website to ask the business not to permit them to bet. The commission says: "The new scheme will allow customers to self-exclude from all online certified wagering operators via one web site."


GAMSTOP, as it is called, will be run by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA), a group whose members are online gambling companies.


Adam Bradford questions the wisdom of this. "It is like asking a cop to apprehend himself for a criminal activity."


Clive Hawkswood, president of the RGA, denies that there is a conflict of interest. "On the contrary it is quite in our interests and our aim is to make it as excellent as any system worldwide," he states.


The Gambling Commission states: "We consider an industry-led and managed service is best put to deliver a reliable and effective plan by building, in specific, on the core experience and knowledge in the market of developing and overseeing big IT solutions, in addition to administering current self-exclusion plans."


Mr Franklin thinks betting business need to take more powerful action before allowing individuals to wager, such as carrying out a price look at prospective customers.


This, he thinks, need to be contracted out to a 3rd party such as credit inspecting business Experian.


Liberalising problems


At the minute, nevertheless, Mr Franklin states people will stay susceptible to a market whose main goal is to generate income.


Dr Downs states: "I think legislation is definitely the only answer. I believe when we liberalised the betting industry - as was forecasted by a number of individuals at the time - we liberalised much more issue gamblers."


For Mr Franklin, he states: "Never once again. Never will I offer another pound to these individuals."


888 Holdings declined to talk about specific cases. Its response to the action taken by the Gambling Commission can be accessed here.