Four operators all trading under Flutter's Paddy Power or Betfair brands have been charged with social responsibility failures by the Gambling Commission.
A Gambling Commission (GC) assessment and regulatory review uncovered non-compliance with five separate paragraphs of the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP).
No official fine has been levied, but the announcement says that Paddy Power Betfair will pay a £2m ($2.67m) settlement - the sum is more than four times that paid as a fine in 2023 for sending promotional push notifications to people who had self-excluded.
The four enterprises holding remote operating under Flutter's Paddy Power Betfair banner were: PPB Entertainment Limited, PPB Counterparty Services Limited, Betfair Casino Limited and TSE Malta LP.
In real terms, this covers Paddy Power's online casino and sports betting offerings in the UK, Betfair's online betting exchange product and its iGaming products.
The breaches of the LCCP relate to paragraphs 1, 4, 7, 8 and 11 of the Social Responsibility Code Provision (SRCP), which is about remote customer interactions.
Detailed examples show a failure to effectively monitor and identify overnight play and the speed of deposits being made.
A customer with Betfair deposited £25,000 over 25 days before any identification of risk was made and an interaction initiated.
While the Gambling Commission recognises that the operators did appear to have monitoring processes and systems in place, certain behaviours have seemingly been slipping through the net or not acted on in good time.
Other issues include lack of manual intervention - a customer staking £86,000 on Betfair during a 16-day period only received automated interactions, for instance.
The review of these processes and the breaches discovered all took place between August 2023 and May 2024.
In determining the correct course of action, the GC has weighed aggravating and mitigating factors.
The severity of breaches, failure to protect vulnerable persons and the existence of previous public statements on similar matters from the GC has not gone in the Flutter-owned operator's favour.
On this occasion, John Pierce, the GC's Director of Enforcement said this: "Our compliance assessment in 2024 uncovered examples where interactions fell far short of what is required. These failings should never have occurred."
He added: "While the licensees co-operated fully with the investigation, accepted the failings early and implemented an action plan quickly, this immediate response is the minimum we expect from operators when serious shortcomings are identified."
Mitigating factors included the licensees willingness to swiftly implement a plan to remedy the problems, their cooperation with the investigation and the early acceptance of the failings.
Paddy Power and the Betfair Group merged in 2015, creating the international Flutter Entertainment company
