The Tricky Issue Of Problem Gambling

31 August 2017
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Dearbail JordanBusiness press reporter


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


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


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 betting company was sending out adverts to his dad's mobile phone, at an expense of ₤ 5 a time.


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


Dr Carolyn Downs, senior lecturer at Lancaster University who is an expert on the gambling industry, estimates that there are around 500,000 people in the UK with a "serious" addition.


"And for each of those individuals with extreme issues, you're taking a look at four or five other family members being severely impacted. Who maybe do not understand that their relative is an issue gambler up until they lose your home," she told 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 failing to safeguard thousands of vulnerable customers who had actually tried to "self-exclude" themselves from their websites.


The regulator likewise penalised 888 for failing to recognise problem behaviour that led to someone stealing ₤ 55,000 from their employer.


Sarah Harrison, primary executive of the regulator, stated: "Messages like this send a strong signal to business like 888 and every gambling operator that the Gambling Commission will take hard action against business who do not meet the rules."


However, the Gambling Commission wouldn't have learnt about any of these issues had 888 Holdings not advance in the very first place.


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


Asked how it makes sure that gambling companies are following a code of practice which needs them to put self-exclusion procedures in place along with determining at threat clients, the regulator, stated: "The commission performs routine compliance activity in a number of ways.


"In addition, we often act on information from consumers or operators themselves that triggers us to perform an examination, as in this case."


Self-exclusion or delusion?


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


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


But they still had access to the bingo websites.


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


She stated: "It was challenging to do with online gambling, even to discover a place on a site to in fact go to inform them you want to self-exclude ... it rather requires an awful great deal of clicks with a mouse around the web site to find a place."


And just because a person is left out from one means of gaming, it doesn't offer them any security versus other approaches.


In some circumstances, self-exclusion is just farcical.


Tony Franklin, a recovering betting addict and an advocate, says: "Self-exclusion from betting stores is paper-based so they are reliant on you supplying a photo of yourself. Then, it may only be distributed to a little number of wagering shops in the location."


It is extremely simple to go to another town to bet, he states, and it is very hard for the individuals working in bookmakers to police their consumers.


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


But she adds: "I don't think there's any sort of will for that action. Problem gamblers provide most of the revenue for the gaming market and that's actually rather popular."


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


At the moment, consumers must to each individual website to ask the business not to allow them to gamble. The commission says: "The new scheme will enable customers to self-exclude from all online accredited betting operators through one website."


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


Adam Bradford concerns the wisdom of this. "It is like asking a policeman to jail himself for a criminal offense."


Clive Hawkswood, president of the RGA, denies that there is a dispute of interest. "On the contrary it is quite in our interests and our objective is to make it as excellent as any system on the planet," he says.


The Gambling Commission states: "We consider an industry-led and managed option is best placed to deliver a reliable and effective scheme by structure, in specific, on the core experience and knowledge in the market of establishing and supervising large IT services, along with administering current self-exclusion plans."


Mr Franklin thinks wagering business need to take stronger action before permitting people to wager, such as performing an affordability check on prospective consumers.


This, he believes, must be contracted out to a third party such as credit checking company Experian.


Liberalising issues


At the moment, nevertheless, Mr Franklin says individuals will remain vulnerable to a market whose main aim is to generate income.


Dr Downs says: "I believe legislation is definitely the only answer. I think when we liberalised the betting industry - as was predicted by a variety of people at the time - we liberalised many more issue bettors."


For Mr Franklin, he states: "Never again. Not ever will I provide one more pound to these people."


888 Holdings decreased to discuss individual cases. Its response to the action taken by the Gambling Commission can be accessed here.