The sports betting operator Ladbrokes has faced a monetary penalty of almost AU$80,000 for serious violations of its licence and alleged failure to limit the damage caused by a financial adviser who misappropriated millions of dollars from his customers to fuel his compulsive gambling habit.
The financial adviser, named Gavin Fineff, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud-related offences in the district court of New South Wales (NSW) and is currently waiting to hear his sentence. Allegedly, he lost over AU$8 million to sports betting, with a significant part of the money belonging to his clients and friends, some of whom were elderly and vulnerable.
As announced by the regulator of almost all online gambling operators in Australia – the Northern Territory Racing Commission (NTRC) – Ladbrokes was found to have failed to investigate whether the aforementioned financial adviser was able to afford his extensive bets and failed to check the source of his money. Instead, the gambling operator offered him bonuses worth AU$528,890 to encourage him to spend more money.
A judgement issued by the NT Racing Commission dated February 27th states that Ladbrokes had been found to have not given the due attention to whether the gambler had been able to afford gambling at the levels that he was doing so. Instead of initiating an investigation on whether Mr Fineff had been able to afford gambling at such levels, Ladbrokes encouraged him to open a betting account by providing him with attractive incentives.
Ladbrokes Criticised for Luring Problem Gambler into Creating Online Betting Account
The Northern Territory Racing Commission handed Ladbrokes three fines at the maximum penalty rate, worth a total of AU$78,540.
According to the online gambling regulatory body, the financial adviser’s losses with other bookmakers before opening an account with Ladbrokes had been worth millions of Australian dollars already. The NTRC found that Ladbrokes verified the true identity of the player who used a pseudonym to create his account with the operator. The judgement, which was signed by Alastair Shields, the chairman of the Northern Territory Racing Commission, found that the online gambling operator seemed to have been more focused on realising profits rather than actually making sure that the gambler was provided with a safe and responsible gambling environment.
The NTRC noted that the company should have undertaken some form of in-depth inquiry when it comes to Mr Fineff’s source of wealth, at the very least. A spokesperson for the parent company of Ladbrokes – Entain – accepted the riling of the online gambling watchdog and explained that the company focused on interactions between a former VIP manager and a former customer in the period from 2017 to 2019.
Furthermore, the gambling regulator found that Fineff’s victims never got their money back, as he has not returned the losses that he generated on Ladbrokes’ website, which amount to AU$758,510.
Ladbrokes faced harsh criticism for failing its legal and moral duty to make sure its customers are protected, especially when it comes to individuals who are clearly at risk of gambling-related harm. The company was condemned for the fact that it preferred to lure a person who it had known to be addicted instead of preventing them from placing bets that made his situation even worse.
- Author
Olivia Cole
