BBC News reported that bookmaker William Hill has been accused by a gambling addict of not doing enough to help him stop betting while he was staking thousands of pounds on single bets. According to gambling rules, bookmakers are required to intervene at signs of distress.

Father of Three and Teacher from South Wales Struggles with Gambling Addiction and Debt

Matthew, who is a father of three and a teacher from South Wales, started off by staking small amounts on major events such as the Grand National. However, he quickly started opening online accounts and taking advantage of free bets. 

He said he “chased” small losses, leading to his stakes increasing from a few pounds to GBP10,000 ($12,187) at once. William Hill made him a gold customer in its VIP scheme, and he soon started staking his GBP2,300 ($2,803) a month take-home salary on payday.

In the Radio 4 documentary “Desperate Calls,” Matthew reviewed 89 phone conversations with William Hill. He frequently used the “Quick Cash” service to withdraw money directly from the bookmaker without waiting for funds to clear in his bank account. Matthew would often leave the betting shop with GBP5,000 ($6,093) in cash and made many of these calls from a nearby phone box. He was spending so much on gambling that he couldn’t pay his mobile phone bill.

William Hill said Matthew won and withdrew thousands from his account, but he would re-stake those winnings almost immediately. His life revolved around gambling, and he struggled to recall much of the last decade, except for dark thoughts, severe lows, and occasional highs. He still owes GBP70,000 ($85,295) to family and friends, and many of his calls to William Hill showed him angry and upset.

William Hill Denies Safer Gambling Procedure Failures Despite Previous Fine

According to the Gambling Commission, operators should intervene if they identify problem gamblers showing signs of distress. However, Matthew claimed that William Hill did not check on these points and allowed him to continue betting. 

William Hill’s due diligence team called Matthew after he asked to self-exclude due to a lack of free bets. The staff member discussed self-exclusion and other ways to curb his gambling but allowed him to continue because he thought the complaint was about service and free bets, not social responsibility.

It reached a point where Matthew knew he had to stop gambling, and his family took him to their doctor. Since then, he has undergone counseling to treat his gambling disorder. He wrote a letter of complaint to William Hill after the cycle of gambling was broken, and he analyzed a mountain of data obtained under a subject access request.

William Hill denied any failures in its safer gambling procedures and emphasized its commitment to preventing gambling-related harm. However, it was fined in 2018 by the UK regulator for not protecting consumers, with many cases resembling Matthew’s and happening around the same period.

A UK government white paper is due to be published soon, with recommendations for strict affordability checks and a new ombudsman for consumer complaints expected.

According to Kairouz, who interviewed 4,500 Quebecers as part of her 2021 study, women have been turning to gambling at greater rates compared to pre-pandemic times. Many women have actually migrated to online gambling activities.

Women Turn to Online Gambling in Greater Numbers

The number of male gamblers still outstripped that of their female counterparts, the survey stated, but the trend was notable, nevertheless. Kairouz, who is a professor at Concordia University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, noted that women are also vulnerable to some of the more pernicious effects of gambling.

The study also dug into the preferences of both men and women, with Kairouz finding out that women were happier with games of chance whereas men were looking to play table games and poker more so than slots.

Kairouz also found out more about the specific games that women and men would play. Women were inclined to try slot machines and scratch cards, or lottery tickets. They did so mostly as an “escape” from reality. Men, though, wanted to experience a “thrill” out of their gambling habits. Conversely, women were happier to continue with lower stakes.

Kairouz’s survey is not the only one that tries to study the habits of male and female gamblers. Elizabeth Lapointe, who is the executive director of the addictions treatment and prevention center Maison Jean Lapointe, argued that about 304,000 Canadians are currently at risk of developing a gambling addiction. The ratio favors men 2:1.

Time to Change How People Think about Women and Gambling

Lapointe also noted that women are less likely to seek help when they suffer gambling-related distress. Women seem to experience far more guilt and shame, Lapointe argues, which is putting conventional wisdom under question. It’s usually men who are thought to be more private about their gambling habits.

Kairouz warns though that as more women are turning to gamble, they still tend to be underrepresented in studies which give a silted version of events and whether women are getting adequate help when it comes to problem gambling and addiction. Kairouz is determined to find out more and she is embarking on a new data collection initiative between April and September and will explore the relationship between gender and play.

He was sentenced by a judge at Liverpool Crown Court, which was inclined to show the man leniency but was then dissuaded when it transpired that Shaw had “bragged” to his TikTok followers about his crime. He, and his partner in crime, Paul Shaw, pled guilty to a conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

The Bookie Fraudster

The pair was active for a half-year period from September 2017 through May 2018. They would target betting shops and pubs in various towns across North England and use laminated £20 bills to trick the machine into thinking that they had paid. In reality, the pair was using a cord to pull the banknote out of the machines.

A total of £15,258.90 had been stolen from across 20 properties. While the crime was serious enough as it were, the court initially thought of offering a more lenient sentence. That was until Michael decided to go on a self-confession and expose his thoughts about his crime to his 70,000 TikTok followers.

He went on to explain how he was a modern-day Robinhood and came up with the moniker “the bookie fraudster” in an hour-long stream that is still on his account. Michael explained his actions as nothing to be ashamed of, and said that he wasn’t hurting people, but only taking from the bookies.

Je Ne Regrette Rien

“And people really, really, need to understand this, the bookies rob from us,” he said. Some followers suggested that he should have not shared his information, but Michael responded that it was alright – he had already pled guilty at the time. What he did not get through was the sentencing bit which was influenced by his video.

Michael explained that his alleged crime was not something bad, but something that would allow him to hold his head high. The rant may have gone mostly unnoticed, but the Liverpool Echo found out about it and reported it, which seems to have made it to Judge Garrett Byrne who put into question whether Michael was remorseful for his decisions.

His legal representative, Charles Lander, insisted that this was still very much the case, but the video proved too strong a piece of evidence that the judge ultimately thought would merit more time in prison. Michael was sentenced to 16 months as a result, instead of the 12 the judge initially thought would be appropriate.