Paddy Power Betfair Faces £2 Million Settlement Over Customer Protection Failures

Paddy Power Betfair will pay £2 million following a UK Gambling Commission investigation that uncovered significant social responsibility failures in customer interaction procedures across four of its remote operating entities.

The UK Gambling Commission has reached a £2 million settlement with four remote operators trading under the Paddy Power and Betfair brands following an investigation that revealed serious deficiencies in customer protection systems.

The settlement involves PPB Entertainment Limited, PPB Counterparty Services Limited, Betfair Casino Limited, and TSE Malta LP. The investigation, conducted as part of the Commission’s 2024 compliance assessment, identified multiple instances where the operators’ systems failed to detect and respond to indicators of potential gambling harm.

System Detection Failures

The Commission’s findings highlighted several concerning cases where automated monitoring systems proved insufficient in identifying at-risk customers. In one instance, a customer deposited £12,000 over a 15-day period before being flagged for review. Another customer deposited £25,000 within 25 days before any interaction occurred.

Additional cases revealed further shortcomings. One customer lost £12,300 over five weeks before the operator initiated any form of intervention. In another case, a customer staked £86,000 across a 16-day period, losing £6,000, without any manual account review despite the high-velocity spending pattern.

The investigation also documented a customer who exhibited intense spikes in gambling activity over 17 days, including one session lasting 7 hours and 46 minutes during which they placed over 300 bets totaling £20,000. The account was only subjected to manual review after reaching a predetermined loss threshold.

Repeat Regulatory Action

This marks the second regulatory action against Paddy Power Betfair in recent years. In 2023, the operator paid £490,000 in penalties for marketing violations involving vulnerable consumers.

John Pierce, the Commission’s Director of Enforcement, addressed the severity of the findings. “This £2 million settlement reflects the seriousness of the failings identified and the importance of meeting social responsibility and customer interaction standards,” Pierce said.

“Our compliance assessment in 2024 uncovered examples where interactions fell far short of what is required. These failings should never have occurred. While the licensees co-operated fully with the investigation, accepted the failings early, and implemented an action plan quickly, this immediate response is the minimum we expect from operators when serious shortcomings are identified.”

Industry Implications

Pierce emphasized the need for effective harm detection systems across the gambling sector. “Operators must ensure systems to identify and address harm work effectively and at the right time. Over-reliance on automation and failure to intervene when clear harm indicators are present exposes consumers to unnecessary risk. Where we find failings, we will act decisively to protect players.”

The Commission has encouraged all gambling operators to review the identified failures to promote industry-wide learning and improvement in customer protection standards.

Complete details of the regulatory failings are available in the Paddy Power Betfair public statement released by the UK Gambling Commission.

Source: UK Gambling Commission