Paddy Power fined £490,000 over marketing to self-excluded players

PPB Counterparty Services, trading as Paddy Power and Betfair, has been fined £490,000 by the Gambling Commission (GC) after an investigation found the Flutter-owned operation sent a marketing promotion to self-excluded players.

On 21 November 2021, customers with Apple devices who had previously blocked themselves via the GAMSTOP national self-exclusion scheme received a push notification carrying the offer of enhanced odds on the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leeds United.

It has been confirmed that the breach only affected Paddy Power customers and not Betfair customers.

The operator subsequently reported the error to the GC via an Licensing Codes of Practice (LCCP) notification five days later on 26 November, attributing the mistake to human error. The number of accounts affected has not been confirmed by either the GC or Flutter.

Under GC rules, gambling businesses are required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent marketing material being sent to self-excluded players, and to remove any self-excluded customer details from marketing databases within two days of their self-exclusion.

The GC has confirmed that while the action breached this rule, no contacts or complaints were made by affected PPB customers.

Paddy Power and Betfair have also agreed to conduct an independent third-party audit of its marketing communications processes, with the GC acknowledging the firm’s role in reporting the breach promptly.

Parent company Flutter Entertainment confirmed that no self-excluded player would have been able to place a bet or utilise the odds provided in the push notification due to existing restrictions in place.

Despite this, GC executive director of operations Kay Roberts stressed the importance of the commission’s role in treating all breaches with appropriate action.

“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,” Roberts said.

“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,” she added.

EGR understands that the fine issued to Paddy Power and Betfair was originally higher, but was reduced after Flutter made an appeal to the GC’s First Tier Tribunal.

Responding to a request for comment by EGR Flutter Entertainment Ian Brown, CEO of Flutter UK&I was contrite in his remarks.

“Flutter’s ambition is to lead the industry in safer gambling and we apologise for this mistake,” Brown said.

“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,” Brown concluded.