Flutter’s Paddy Power Betfair must pay £2m after a ruling by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. The regulator announced the settlement today.
Systems failure
The UKGC stated that the operator’s systems failed due to poorly timed interactions and a lack of sensitivity to harm triggers. The Commission’s findings highlighted that Flutter intervened in all cases, but the interventions were too late. Speaking to NEXT.io, a Fluttr UKI spokesperson said:
Flutter takes its safer gambling responsibilities incredibly seriously and we firmly believe that we lead the industry in player protection.
Customer safety is our number one priority and there is no suggestion that any of the customers reviewed by the Gambling Commission experienced any harm.” Our controls have evolved significantly and we recently introduced a next generation customer safety platform, with the vast majority of checks now happening in real-time. ” As such, we are confident that the issues highlighted by the Commission in its public statement would not be repeated today. We continue to invest in our technology and our people to raise standards in the regulated industry.”
Key instances
Specific failures included a customer depositing £12,000 in 15 days before review, and another depositing £25,000 in 25 days. One user lost £12,300 over five weeks before being identified. Another account staked £86,000 in 16 days without a manual review. A player had a session lasting 7 hours and 46 minutes, placing over 300 bets worth £20,000, with behaviour only flagged after a loss trigger. This is the operator’s second penalty in two years. The Director of Enforcement at UKGC, John Pierce, said:
This £2m settlement reflects the seriousness of the failings identified and the importance of meeting social responsibility and customer interaction standards.
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.” 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.”
