Another British bookmaker has appeared on the UK Gambling Commission’s radar screen for allegedly failing to follow the regulator’s main principles for socially responsible provision of gambling services.
The Guardian reported that gambling operator Ladbrokes Coral is currently being investigated by the Commission for failing to discourage a betting shop customer with problem gambling behavior from further fueling his addiction.
Paul Jones, who had previously developed addiction to the controversial fixed-odds betting terminals and is now taking steps to recover, has told The Guardian that he had once taken out two payday loans by telephone within half an hour right in front of Ladbrokes staff at a Birmingham-based betting shop. Mr. Jones has presented bank statements to support his claim.
The recovering gambling addict has further said that he had not been encouraged by Ladbrokes staff to take out the loans, but he had not been discouraged to stop gambling, as well, even though he had shown clear signs of problem behavior.
All UK Gambling Commission licensees are required to follow a set of rules, collectively known as Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice. As The Guardian pointed out, under those rules, licensed operators must deploy effective policies for customer interaction, particularly in cases when employees at betting shops suspect that a customer may have a gambling problem.
Mr. Jones has explained that Ladbrokes staff had not made any effort to intervene with his actions and had even run his debit card to check whether the loan money had arrived. The FOBTs addict has also pointed out that he had taken payday loans to wager at other high-street betting shops but has not named them as he has not been able to produce bank statements.
Mr. Jones has not gambled since March and has attended Gamblers Anonymous sessions to help him fight his addiction.
Mr. Jones’ story surfaced at a time when the industry is preparing for a crackdown on the controversial FOBTs. After its merger with Coral, the combined Ladbrokes Coral entity became the largest operator of betting shops across the UK and of such gaming devices.
Industry under Fire and Pending Clampdown
The UK Government is set to release its report on the gambling machines in late October or early November. Campaigners have been calling for a massive reduction of the maximum stake the machines are accepting per betting round to just £2 from £100. The maximum stake will most certainly be slashed, although it is still unknown by how much exactly.
The looming crackdown comes as a response to growing concerns about the increasing number of gambling addicts among FOBTs bettors as well as of gambling addiction-related crimes. What is more, British bookmakers have been criticized for their failure to prevent vulnerable customers from falling victims to the addictive gambling machines.
Earlier this week, Labour Deputy leader Tom Watson announced that his party will introduce a compulsory levy for gambling operators to fund treatment of customers with problem gambling and related research.
