Betfred Operator Pays £900K in UKGC Settlement

Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, the company behind betfred.com, has agreed to pay £900,000 following a regulatory settlement with the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) over shortcomings in its social responsibility controls.

The settlement follows an investigation by the Commission after a compliance review identified weaknesses in the operator’s safer gambling systems and procedures.

Deficiencies In Safer Gambling Controls

According to the UKGC, the operator did not have sufficiently effective automated measures to detect potential indicators of gambling-related harm. The regulator said its monitoring framework failed to adequately assess factors such as customer spending levels, gambling duration, and betting patterns.

The investigation also concluded that the system lacked automated processes capable of triggering immediate action when strong signs of customer harm were detected.

Delayed Customer Interventions

The Commission found another issue involving the operator’s safer gambling review process. Once an account had been flagged for review, it could not be flagged again for another seven days, even if additional indicators of harm appeared during that period.

The regulator said this created delays in further customer interactions. In one example cited during the investigation, a customer lost £17,900 within 24 hours without receiving another responsible gambling intervention.

Regulatory Settlement

As part of the case, Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited has agreed to make a £900,000 payment under the settlement reached with the UK Gambling Commission.

John Pierce, Director of Enforcement at the UKGC, said effective policies and procedures remain essential for protecting consumers and ensuring safer gambling standards across the British market.

He acknowledged that the operator responded quickly by introducing temporary measures after the issues were identified and has since implemented a broader action plan to strengthen its compliance framework.

Pierce also stated that operators should review the Commission’s findings and use the case as a reminder of the importance of maintaining effective systems capable of identifying and responding to gambling-related harm without delay.