Lydia Thomas, Producer, BBC Radio 4 – Written evidence (GAM0004) I’m a Journalist on BBC Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme, You and Yours. For the past 4 years I have been reporting on the gambling industry for You and Yours and produced a Radio 4 documentary called My Name Is Katie on the subject. I am not personally affected nor do I have a moral issue with gambling. However, I believe that the gambling environment in the UK isn’t safe or fair for consumers. The evidence I want to bring to the Committee’s attention is based on what our listeners have told me about their dealings with online gambling firms in particular. Most of my answers relate to Questions 1-3. But first I’d like to summarise the main cases I have been reporting on and illustrate how the current laws and regulations do not protect customers. Although there are regulations in place that require companies to; engage with customers who display signs of problem gambling, and to analyse the data they have on customers to be proactive and protect customers. In my experience this does not happen. In fact it is the total opposite, and the gambling companies are using this data on their customers to encourage them to spend more than they can afford. For example, many companies offer VIP programmes to customers who they can see are spending a lot of money with them. They do this to keep customers loyal to them. Once a customer is entered into the scheme they will receive special offers, such a s free bets and bonuses. They’re usually entered into a loyalty rewards programme (so the more they spend the more free bets they get), and they will also be assigned a personal manager who phones and emails them regularly, establishing a direct relationship and in many cases, befriending them. Often the customers are invited to away days like football matches. The Gambling Commission requires companies to check a player’s income before they are made a VIP, but in my experience this check isn’t done. Because no check is done the gambling companies have no idea whether a player is a high roller who can afford huge losses, or someone who cannot afford it. Customers I have spoken to say they feel “groomed” to spend more by the gambling company. The companies hold and analyse masses of data on their customers, they use it to make someone a VIP. They hold information like speed of play, whether a bonus is used, the method of payment etc. Instead of using this data to spot problem gambling behaviour, they use it to spot a player who is trying to stop gambling. They will contact the player, inundating them with special offers and encouraging them to play again. I have evidence proving this. On behalf of customers I have submitted Subject Access Requests to these gambling firms to supply the customers with their account data. In this data you can see evidence of problem gambling, for example, gambling all night, on obscure sports, or using a range of payment options. These are all clear instances the Gambling Commission says companies should flag. You can see breaks in play and then emails arriving in inboxes offering customers free bets. You can see notes on customer’s accounts stating the customer hasn’t player for a while, and customer service agents discussing how they should contact the customer to play again. Another big issue I come across time and again is gambling on credit. The Gambling Commission has guidelines for companies that say if a customer is gambling on a range of credit cards it’s a sign of problem gambling and they should step in. Recently I featured a customer who was gambling with 9 credit cards, and spent over £100,000 in two days with one gambling firm. It’s clear to see the 9 credit cards being used in her data, but the firm chose to ignore it. Many gambling addicts I have featured say they would welcome a ban on gambling on credit cards. Often when I feature cases of problem gamblers on You and Yours, the company later contacts the customer and offers them big settlements as long as they sign a non-disclosure agreement. These contracts often have clauses in them that say the customer can not inform the Gambling Commission about their case. Following my exposure of this issue, the Gambling Commission issued a warning to companies about it: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action- and-statistics/News/industry-warning-notice-use-of-non-disclosure-clauses-ndas Many customers come to You and Yours as a last resort. Usually they have made a direct complaint to the company, and have been fobbed off. They can’t approach an Alternative Dispute Resolution Service as their complaint is a problem gambling one- which an ADR cannot get involved in. The customer will contact the Gambling Commission, who say they cannot look into individual cases. These people have nowhere to turn. Usually they have mental health issues, and have big debts. They find it difficult to access addiction counselling and treatment. It is telling that despite customers often being turned down when they make complaints to gambling firms, that You and Yours has been successful in returning hundreds of thousands of pounds to them. I have calculated over the last 4 years that the programme’s involvement in these cases has returned over £500,000 to customers. As a consumer journalist I find it strange that the Gambling Industry is so laxly regulated, with no avenues for consumer redress. Many other industries have an ombudsman, who customers can take their complaints to. Take for example the energy industry, it has an ombudsman, and strict regulations to try and protect consumers from unfairness - why is it not the same in the gambling industry? In my opinion, the current Gambling Act needs to be updated to take into account the advances in online and mobile gambling. Also, I feel the regulations need to be stricter to require gambling companies to abide by them. In many cases the rules are written in black and white, but they are being ignored. Lydia Thomas, Producer, BBC Radio 4 22 July 2019.