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It's bad enough UK gambling sites must now be an exorbitant tax hike, at least one company is having to shell out £2m in fines.
Failings by Paddy Power/Betfair included allowing customer to place £20,000 in bets across an eight-hour session, the UK Gambling Commission found. In another instance, a customer was allowed to stake £86,000 over a 16-day period, during which time they lost £6,000.
“Despite the high velocity of spend, no manual review of the account took place,” the regulator said.
The Gambling Commission said the online betting and gaming brands, which are owned by Flutter Entertainment, had fallen “far short” of what was expected during a routine compliance assessment performed in 2024.
The £2m settlement agreed upon between Flutter and the Gambling Commission is equivalent to slightly less than two hours worth of takings for the company.
Flutter is also the parent company of the US largest regulated online sportsbook FanDuel.
Paddy Power is certainly no stranger punitive actions in the UK. There was a time when their colorful ad campaigns landed the firm in hot water with the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Paddy Power was once forced to pull an ad offering 'money off if he walks' in the murder trial of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius.
The ASA also banned Paddy Power's 'dwarf ad'. It showed a little person flanked by two stunning female models in a limousine smoking a cigar and holding a glass of champagne. The strapline says: "Who says you can't make money being short?"
- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com
