The Gambling Commission is investigating claims that the online casino agency LeoVegas usual £20,000 from a problem gambler who had stolen the money from his mother and then bombarded him with emails encouraging him to keep making bets.
The Guardian exposed details of the case, sparking renewed calls from campaigners and politicians for gambling businesses to carry out more rigorous tests before customers place bets.
The improving addict, who’s receiving remedy but should nonetheless face prosecution, had his account locked via LeoVegas in May 2018 after a customer service employee flagged up “a regarding” communique for the duration of a live web chat.
The account was suspended days after LeoVegas received a £600,000 penalty from the Gambling Commission for accepting bets from problem gamblers in separate incidents.
Despite the suspension, sister agencies within the LeoVegas group, such as Pink Casino and Castle Jackpot, continued to send him advertising emails as frequently as four times a day, imparting “free spins” and bonuses.
In January 2019, after months of receiving the emails, the gambler set up a brand new account with 21. Co. The United Kingdom is also part of the Leo Gaming institution. He used an identical name and email cope howe; this time, he registered his mom’s debit card.
He proceeded to gamble away approximately £20,000 before 21. Co. United Kingdom asked for ID verification and, on realizing that he had used someone else’s card, blocked his account.
Once again, though, sister organizations within the Leo Gaming institution resumed sending advertising emails from many of its websites, providing loose spins and refunds on losses. In addition tos using his mother’s car without permission, the gambler had racked up thousands of kilos in debt from payday creditors such as 247Moneybox, MyJar, and Satsuma.
Labour’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, who is pushing for tighter controls on online gambling, said: “It makes no experience for gambling corporations to be doing ID and affordability exams after gamblers have lost massive sums as opposed to before they’ve positioned the bets.
“The entire machine seems to be spherical in the wrong manner. We also want to peer instantaneous movement to scrap credit score card making a bet and quit the practice of bombarding playing people with addiction with gambling commercials.”
A Gambling Commission spokesman stated: “We are clear with operators about the rules they need to comply with to save you and shield their clients from experiencing harm from playing. We can investigate where we see evidence that those policies are not being followed.”
The case comes as the authorities review whether regulations overlaying online making a bet need to be tightened, including through more potent ID tests and guidelines that save you gamblers from putting bets on credit.
Online casinos and bookmakers are not required to check whether gamblers can afford their dependancy before allowing them to place bets.
The Gambling Commission is thought to have gathered evidence relating to the case and is analyzing whether or not LeoVegas breached the conditions of its license to perform within the UK. LeoVegas declined to comment.
In 2018, the Gambling Commission compelled LeoVegas to pay a £600,000 penalty for several transgressions after evaluating the corporation’s license to function within the UK.
Most of the flaws related to self-exclusion structures permit gamblers to voluntarily bar themselves from setting bets with a company. The regulator observed that 1,894 LeoVegas customers were sent advertising material despite having signed as much as its self-exclusion scheme.
More than 400 customers were allowed to guess £2 hundred 000 over two months without the business enterprise speakme to them first or using a 24-hour “cooling-off” length.
Gambling lowlights
April 2019 Bookies withdraw new video games after they’re accused of trying to bypass legal guidelines reducing stakes on fixed-odds-making bet terminals from £100 a spin to £2.
December 2018 Ladbrokes is revealed to have paid £1m to victims of a troubled gambler who had stolen from them in return for a pledge not to tell the enterprise regulator.
November 2018: Three online casinos paid £14m in regulatory consequences over disasters in money laundering and hassle-playing controls.
In May 2018, Leo Vegas was fined £ 600,000 for accepting bets from problem gamblers and sending them advertising material.
In March 2018, SkyBet was hit with £1m penalty for permitting gamblers who had self-excluded to maintain having a bet and sending them marketing fabric.
August 2017: Online casino 888 fined a file £7.8m for disasters in its duty to defend more than 7,000 susceptible clients.
