British bookmakers are using specially-created bets featuring unfair odds that guarantee them large profits to lure football fans into gambling.
A recent investigation held by Sportsmail has unveiled the tricks that online gambling operators have been using to restrict the bets made by more successful gamblers. Some of the strictest measures taken by bookmakers to restrict large winnings even include gamblers’ account closures.
Yesterday night, the revelations made by the investigation of Sportsmail were welcomed by both anti-gambling campaigners and politicians who also shared their disapproval of these practices used in the industry.
The last few years have been very beneficial for the sector, with the overall profits of the British gambling sector for last year being estimated at £14.5 billion. At the same time, about 430,000 people are classified by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) as problem gamblers, while a further 2,000,000 individuals are considered at risk of developing an addiction.
As revealed by the investigation held by Sportsmail, over £1.5 billion of the above-mentioned profits were generated by betting on football matches, making football the most popular sport to bet on for local people. Horseracing was the second most lucrative sport, with overall annual profits worth £1.1 billion.
What has been found most concerning is the fact that the practices unveiled by the investigation are not only limited to so-called rogue operators. On the contrary, they are found to be quite widespread in the sector and are even used by some of the leading high-street bookmakers in the UK.
Not Only Rogue Gambling Operators Use These Practices to Lure British Punters into Gambling
During its investigation, Sportsmail has communicated with various industry insiders, most of whom have shared some knowledge of bookmakers’ policy of exploiting casual gamblers and imposing certain restrictions on punters who have been more successful in their betting.
It was revealed that the policy of high-street bookmakers allows them to provide customers with very large profit margins that amount to more than 100% on the most popular football bets. In comparison, normal a casino margin on roulette tables is about 2.7%. Apart from that, sports betting operators have also been found to be spending millions on promoting specially-designed bets that can boost profits by not providing gamblers with fair odds in case they win.
As mentioned above, some punters, who have been more successful in their betting, have faced certain limits imposed by bookmakers, including account closures. Ranking customers depending on their success is possible for online gambling operators thanks to special software they use to analyse their customers. Also, some unfair practices have been used by some companies to lure players into gambling, such as giving VIP status to losing customers and providing them with special privileges aimed at encouraging them to spend more and more money on bets.
Also, gambling companies are using tactics to prevent their customers from withdrawing their winnings and sometimes demand certain financial details that take time to be presented. In the end, part or even the total amount of the winnings can be lost because of the delay.
- Author
Daniel Williams
