The British gambling giant bet365 is currently facing another litigation in its domestic market, as the company is facing accusations of not meeting the responsible gambling obligations under its operating licence.
According to reports, one of the major pieces of evidence in the legal action is proof that a customer of the gambling company made 162 bets in one day alone, which bet365 believes is totally acceptable.
The legal action against the British gambling company has been started by Vayuputra Anirudh Thotapalli after he lost almost £300,000 on the online gambling platform of bet365. The case dates back more than seven years, with the customer’s losses representing part of the massive £800,000 deposit that Mr Thotapalli has made.
The customer reports that the aforementioned losses were generated during a period of 13 months starting in February 2015. At the time, his gambling activity started increasing, to a point when he placed more than 30 bets within 33 days, and a particularly heavy day (December 24th, 2015) on which he placed a total of 162 wagers.
According to the plaintiff’s claims, bet365 allegedly did not do anything to check his source of funds, even though the customer has deposited a considerable amount to his account. At the time, the gambling operator considered that a self-assessment carried out by the customer himself was enough of an assessment, giving Thotapallli discretion over how he completed the survey.
Gambling Giant bet365 Failed to Carry Out Affordability Checks, Gambler Says
In his claims to the court, Mr Thotapalli noted that his betting activity seem to have not raised any red flags at bet365 or its employees, and if it did, the gambling operator was hardly bothered to take some action and prevent the customer from spending such a large amount of money. In fact, it took the gambling company a couple of months to step in and verify the customer’s source of funds after he made the massive deposit. At the time he had already lost almost £47,000.
As mentioned above, at that point, the self-assessment seemed to be enough for the gambling company which did not ask Mr Thotapalli to provide any proof of income or another document to verify he was able to afford to spend so much money on betting. It took a whole year for the online gambling platform since the massive deposit to take action and froze the customer’s account as a measure aimed at preventing gambling-related harm.
Unfortunately, the damage was done by then, with the player now claiming that it was the company’s fault for not stopping him at the very beginning which eventually led to him losing approximately one-third of a bankroll.
bet365 Claims Customers’ Self-Assessment Is Enough
The responsible gambling rules for the UK gambling sector were much different in 2015 and 2016 than they are now. However, bet365 was still expected to put some effort into the prevention of gambling-related harm and stopping the customer from making large deposits, so it would now have to come up with a better argument to defend itself in court.
In response to the latest legal action, the British gambling giant emphasised that it requires customers to make a self-assessment in order to indicate whether or not they suffer from compulsive gambling. The operator claims that the plaintiff failed to inform its customer service that he was a gambling addict and even went a step further, saying that Mr Thotapalli confirmed at the time of the self-assessment that he was in control of his betting habits.
Behavioural specialists, however, note that very few avid gamblers would acknowledge so easily they have a gambling problem if asked. As a large number of mental health studies have shown for years, denial is closely related to gambling addiction.
Witness statements are required by the court judge by mid-September, with the court set to decide whether a trial against the operator has to start or not. If it does, this could result in a new precedent for the gambling sector, as companies could be forced to set limits on the amount that could be lost by their customers. Even if responsible gambling, affordability and mental health checks are passed, customers might still be able to lay claim to their losses.
- Author
Olivia Cole
