Gambling Commission orders Betfred to pay £800,000

[The Buzz]

The bookmaker agreed to the settlement after accepting stolen cash from a VIP customer, who was allegedly offered free drinks and day trips to encourage him to keep betting.

Read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/...-800000-pounds

[igamingnuts]

This shouldn't harm Betfred in any way. 0.8m pounds isn't big loss in terms of money and they shouldn't loss reputation with this "affair"

[justbookies]

So Betfred is supposed to know the source of this guy's funds when even his boss did not know the money was missing? Gambling Commission need to keep it real.

[Sherlock]

Betfred confirmed that the customer was considered to be a VIP player and would have been in its top 5% of customers in terms of spend and profit, the Gambling Commission said.

I guess he was in top 0.01%.

[justbookies]

I guess he was in top 0.01%.

Yes, considering the way they limit players so quickly (speaking from personal experience).

[Triple7]

So Betfred is supposed to know the source of this guy's funds when even his boss did not know the money was missing? Gambling Commission need to keep it real.

They are not supposed to know. They are supposed to ask themselves questions if some Joe Average is losing hundred thousands of pounds.

[justbookies]

They are supposed to ask themselves questions if some Joe Average is losing hundred thousands of pounds.

If this money had actually been his, rather than stolen, Betfred would not have got fined. This would not have registered with the Gambling Commission at all. They are making Betfred culpable for a crime the bookmaker could not possibly have known about, however many copies of passports and utility bills they took.

What you consider to be large sums other people may not. There were tens of thousands of pounds in single bets flying around at Ascot today. Are bookies to query why the punters have such "large" sums? It's not realistic.

[Triple7]

If this money had actually been his, rather than stolen, Betfred would not have got fined. This would not have registered with the Gambling Commission at all. They are making Betfred culpable for a crime the bookmaker could not possibly have known about, however many copies of passports and utility bills they took.

What you consider to be large sums other people may not. There were tens of thousands of pounds in single bets flying around at Ascot today. Are bookies to query why the punters have such "large" sums? It's not realistic.

If this money actually had been his, he should have been marked as a problem gambler, I guess. This guy had problems with gambling and even stole money to continue with his gambling problems. This has nothing to do with taking copies of passports or utility bills. It's about responsibility towards gambling addiction and money laundering. Instead of verifying everything is ok, they encouraged him to play more.

I guess they got some standard what is a large sum. For some people, that may not be a large sum. Well, then it's ok. If a billionaire loses € 100.000 at a night, he might be fine. If a Joe Average stakes that much, he might be losing his house, etc. First case is a night out, second case is problematic gambling.

If I want to pay my car in cash, it will be registered in the FIU. I don't if UK has such a thing. Most countries have. Once registered, relevant authorities will have a look. A casino or bookie is just a first line that has to keep their eyes open. Also buying or taking stolen stuff is illegal.

For me too, it's a lot of babysitting, but I never had any gambling addicition. I guess people who had such an addiction, feel this sort of rules can help.

[justbookies]

I agree with you, but I think the bookies should not have to police their clients beyond the necessary KYC to ensure they aren't dealing with fraudsters (that is in their own interest and insisted upon by their banks anyway). Also, the UK bookies (many are publically listed companies like Ladbrokes and William Hills) have a duty to their shareholders as a business to encourage people to use their services and make money. So what we are discussing is, imo, a fine line between generating business and turning it away. But I am not a fan of the Gambling Commission, a newish organisation that oversees regulated gambling in the UK (you used to get a betting license from your local court). I don't think the GC quite understand both sides of the coin.

[JackTenSuited]

Yes, considering the way they limit players so quickly (speaking from personal experience).

Prob playing slots or something. Not going to get limited doing that!

[tipstersgottalent]

£800K it's nothing. They make that in just under 4 hours. You cannot trust anyone these days, absolutely shambles

[Sherlock]

Triple7: I honestly disagree with the notion that here are the gamblers vs here are the normal people. There is no border between them, not even thin border. I used to be a profitable gambler, who was hitting value for years. Yet it was an every day battle to not doing something stupid with moneymanagement and value. Ofc many times I did many stupid things and lost a crazy money. I managed to make it through, but the devil was always next to me. Human mind is something different than the stupid Uk antigambling campaigns say to us.

Every guy that is betting is a gambler. Every one has dreams to be rich. That is the point when people bet. The reason why they bet. Gambling is about losing control. It is the same as sex for example. So everyone is potencial gambler, because everyone is playing with fire. If I ever have a kid and see him gambling, I will kick his ass that he will not be able to sit. There is a safe way how to use certain illegal drugs, but gambling is always a play with fire. So I consider myself being worse than drug dealer in this way and I do not give a s*** that affiliate business is more legal.

And the Betfred fine? It is just a politics. Useless commission must pretend they are protecting common folks. That they are worth of something. So they pick up some cases that will show public they are on the right side and that is it. It is like when US president gives some money for charity that are being used for building a school in Afghanistan. Just a cruel joke that is needed for public. So the public can bet and feel secure, while playing with the fire without guilt. UK gambling regulation is hypocritical, but the illusion works well. A lot of gamblers ruin their lives and feed us. Same thing is banking and loan regulation. Just pretending that there is some protection for people, when there is none. But few cases must be prosecuted and publicized, so it looks like that everything is ok.

[ocreditor]

Wow interesting story.. this guy had problem with gambling that's for sure.