Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, the company behind betfred.com, has agreed to pay £900,000 (approximately $1.2 million) to resolve an investigation conducted by the UK Gambling Commission regarding deficiencies in its social responsibility measures.
The inquiry was initiated after a compliance review revealed notable gaps in the company's safer gambling protocols. These included a lack of effective automated systems designed to identify customers who may be at risk of gambling-related harm.
The Gambling Commission noted that the operator lacked adequate automated mechanisms to track key indicators such as customer spending habits, time spent gambling, and overall gambling behaviors. Furthermore, the company failed to implement timely automated interventions when significant signs of potential harm were detected.
Additionally, the regulator discovered that customers who had been flagged for a safer gambling review could not be re-flagged for a period of seven days, which hindered timely interventions even if new signs of risk appeared during that timeframe.
In one particular case, a customer lost £17,900 (around $23,700) within just 24 hours without receiving any further safer gambling support after being marked for review.
John Pierce, the Gambling Commission's Director of Enforcement, stated, "The Commission found that Petfre did not have sufficiently effective procedures in place, which meant that some customers showing signs of harm were not contacted promptly enough."
He also remarked, "Although the shortcomings we identified were unacceptable, the licensee took immediate action to implement interim controls to address our pressing concerns. They have since provided a suitable action plan and made considerable efforts to assure the Commission that their current operational framework aligns with our standards."
Pierce emphasized that the failure to establish a robust monitoring system to identify and reach out to at-risk consumers led to a substantial regulatory settlement and urged other operators to take heed of this situation.
Alongside the £900,000 settlement, Petfre also covered the costs associated with the Commission's investigation.
Mark Pearson, Betfred's Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications, commented, "Following a review of our online operations in 2024, we have reached a settlement with the Gambling Commission. We fully cooperated with the investigation and promptly implemented an action plan to address the identified issues."
He further added, "Betfred is dedicated to ensuring a safe gambling environment for all our customers."