The UK’s biggest online betting company Bet365 has come under the spotlight after a Daily Mail sting has revealed the betting giant is giving cash rebates to big losers to encourage them to continue gambling.
The discovery came after an undercover reporter managed to get into Bet365’s headquarters in Gibraltar. The Daily Mail reporter was trained for three weeks to work as a customer service staff for the company.
The Mail is the first media organization to infiltrate the betting giant’s high-security base in the British territory, uncovering a culture of cashback incentives and VIP rewards.
In one of the training sessions for new employees, the undercover reporter was told that players who rack up big losses are given weekly rebates of up to 10%. Huge spenders are also rewarded with cash bonuses which act as an incentive for people to bet.
The Daily Mail investigation found that Bet365 implements a loyalty rewards scheme in which high-spending players are showered with rebates on a weekly basis on their losses. The company also has a net loss threshold in place and customers who hit that target will be incentivized and will become VIPs. These VIPs will then become entitled to celebrity treatment with dedicated advisors.
Customers can gamble beyond eight hours a day before they are served with a gambling addiction warning. Junior staff can give away free casino spins and £50 cash bonuses to anyone who contacts the company’s customer service line.
The latest revelation has sparked concerns among campaigners who said vulnerable customers are kept locked in a cycle of betting by spoiling them with attractive perks and cash returns. While it is normal practice for gambling firms to offer rebates to customers, campaigners say it could lead to problem betting.
This comes as no surprise for a leading gambling lawyer who said cashback incentives are rampant in the industry, with some companies even offering rebates of up to 25%. The Gambling Commission has full oversight of the industry, but the agency has not put in place limits on rebates and only requires gambling firms to abide by social responsibility guidelines.
The discovery was praised by government officials, with former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on gambling (APPG), now leading calls for an extensive revamp of British gambling laws. Smith said Bet365’s tactics will turn losers into gambling addicts.
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