Paddy Power Betfair has agreed to pay £2m after the UK Gambling Commission found the company failed to intervene quickly enough when customers showed signs of harmful gambling behaviour. The regulator said its investigation identified multiple cases where high-risk activity went unchecked for extended periods, despite rules requiring operators to monitor and act on such behaviour.
Regulator findings and examples
The Gambling Commission said a compliance assessment carried out last year uncovered social responsibility failures at the betting firm. It said customer interactions in several cases “fell far short” of regulatory expectations.
One example cited involved a customer who staked £86,000 in just over two weeks, yet no manual review of the account took place during that period. In another case, a customer placed more than 300 bets totalling £20,000 during an intense betting session that lasted nearly eight hours.
The regulator also highlighted a customer who deposited £25,000 over a 25-day period before any interaction from the operator occurred.
According to the commission, Paddy Power Betfair had systems in place to flag potentially harmful behaviour. However, it said the evidence showed that indicators such as rapid spending, increasing deposits, overnight gambling, and changing betting patterns were not identified or acted upon until the following day.
Regulatory response and enforcement
John Pierce, the Gambling Commission’s director of enforcement, said the size of the £2m payment reflects the seriousness of the failures identified.
“These failings should never have occurred,” Pierce said. He added that while the operator cooperated fully with the investigation, accepted the findings early, and implemented an action plan quickly, this response represents the minimum expected when serious shortcomings are found.
Pierce also said that excessive reliance on automated systems, combined with delayed human intervention, exposed customers to unnecessary risk when clear indicators of harm were present.
Four operators trading under the Paddy Power and Betfair brands, PPB Entertainment, PPB Counterparty Services, Betfair Casino, and TSE Malta, will make the £2m payment as part of the settlement. The payment is classified as a “payment in lieu of a financial penalty.”
Previous action and company response
This is the second time in two years that Paddy Power Betfair has faced regulatory action. In 2023, the company was ordered to pay £490,000 for sending promotional push notifications to customers who had signed up to self-exclude.
Flutter Entertainment, which owns Paddy Power Betfair, said it takes customer safety seriously. A spokesperson for Flutter’s UK and Ireland business said the company believes it leads the industry in player protection and that customer safety remains its top priority.
The spokesperson said there is no suggestion that any of the customers reviewed by the Gambling Commission experienced harm. They added that the company’s controls have evolved significantly, including the introduction of a next-generation customer safety platform, with most checks now occurring in real time.
Flutter said it is confident that the issues identified by the Gambling Commission would not be repeated under its current systems.
Featured image credits: Jim Makos via Flickr
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