The UK gaming Commission (UKGC) has ordered Paddy Power Betfair, trading under PPB Counterparty Services Limited, to pay a substantial fine of £490,000 for engaging in marketing efforts targeted at those who have voluntarily excluded themselves from gaming.
Unintentional Push Notification Error
The well-known gambling operator recently informed the UK gambling regulator that, in November 2021, it unintentionally sent a push notification promoting increased odds for bets on an English Premier League football match via its app to Apple devices connected to customer accounts that were registered under Gamstop self-exclusion. According to Paddy Power Betfair, this occurrence happened due to a human error and was not planned.
UKGC Findings and Violations
The UKGC found that PPB had disregarded paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP) 3.5.3 after conducting an inquiry. The Commission’s rules, which mandate that gaming companies take all practical precautions to stop marketing materials from being delivered to clients who have self-excluded, were broken by this mistake. Additionally, within two days of receiving a fully completed self-exclusion notification, operators must immediately remove the names and information of self-excluded customers from their marketing databases.
UKGC and Flutter UK & Ireland’s response
Kay Roberts, Executive Director of Operations at the Gambling Commission, commented on the punishment issued and emphasized the gravity of such violations. Roberts recommended other operators to take lessons from this episode and tighten their systems to avoid the sending of promotional content to self-excluded people, even if he acknowledged that there was no evidence pointing to purposeful marketing or that consumers who had self-excluded were permitted to gamble.
Kay Roberts said, “Although there is no evidence the marketing was intentional, nor that all the people with apps saw the notification or that self-excluded customers were allowed to gamble, we take such breaches seriously. We would advise all operators to learn from the operator’s failures and ensure their systems are robust enough to always prevent self-excluded customers from being sent promotional material.”
The CEO of Flutter UK & Ireland, Ian Brown, reaffirmed Flutter’s dedication to setting the standard for safer gambling. Brown expressed regret for the error and gave the assurance that, as soon as it was identified, efforts were taken right away to fix it. He added that the regulator and Paddy Power had not received any complaints about the push notice. Brown reaffirmed that Flutter is committed to upholding the highest standards of responsibility and that it continues to collaborate closely with the Gambling Commission.
Brown said, “Flutter’s ambition is to lead the industry in safer gambling and we apologize for this mistake. The push notification in question was sent in error and, once discovered by our team, we took immediate steps to rectify the issue and proactively notified the Gambling Commission. We know that neither Paddy Power nor the regulator received any complaints about the message. We continue to work closely with the Gambling Commission in all areas and we are committed to operating at the highest possible levels of responsibility.”
Extent of Notification Exposure Uncertain
Because the push notification required that users have the Paddy Power app installed and push notifications turned on, it is still unknown how many customers actually received and viewed it.
Accepting Punishment and Admitting Fault
Paddy Power Betfair initially contested the UKGC’s ruling. The business ultimately admitted its error and withdrew the appeal, choosing to pay the £490,000 replacement charge instead.
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