Sky Bet to pay £1 million penalty package

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Gambling business Sky Bet is to pay a £1 million penalty package for failing to protect vulnerable consumers.

The failures relate to Sky Bet customers who had self-excluded from gambling. Self-exclusion is a tool used by consumers who feel they are having trouble controlling their gambling and request that the operator refuse their service.

Weakness in Sky Bet's self-exclusion facilities meant that:

• A total of 736 self-excluded customers were able to open and use duplicate accounts to gamble.
• Around 50,000 self-excluded customers received marketing material by e-mail, mobile text or a push notification within a mobile app.
• A total of 36,748 self-excluded customers did not have their account balance funds returned to them on account closure.

Richard Watson, Program Director, said, "This was a serious failure affecting thousands of potentially vulnerable customers, and the £1 million penalty package should serve as a warning to all gambling businesses.

"Protecting consumers from gambling-related harm is a priority for us, and where we see operators failing in their responsibility to keep their customers safe, we will take tough action.

"Sky Bet reported the issues to us quickly, cooperated with us and has taken this investigation seriously."

Read Bonne Terre Limited t/a SkyBetting and Gaming public statement for more information.