Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “This outrageous case is more evidence of a gambling industry that needs to do more to protect vulnerable customers. They were later sentenced to 16 months in prison for theft and false accounting. The customer staked more than £1.3m, including £55,000 stolen from their employer, during a 13-month period during which they gambled three to four hours a day, placing more than 850,000 bets – an average of about 2,150 bets every day. The company, based in Gibraltar but listed on the London Stock Exchange, failed to spot the “visible signs of problem gambling” displayed by one customer, who resorted to crime to fund their habit, the commission said. Self-exclusion is meant to operate as a fail-safe to prevent anyone who has chosen to bar themselves from gambling, such as people trying to quit, from succumbing to temptation.
