Poll: Should betting on pre-recorded TV shows be banned
The GB regulator issued a warning to operators last week but did it go far enough?
Great Britain’s Gambling Commission last week warned operators about their conduct when accepting bets on pre-recorded TV shows before telling media outlets about suspicious betting patterns.
According to the regulator, such behaviour calls in to question the integrity of the gambling industry and associated TV shows and it called upon operators to “demonstrate robust management” and uphold their licensing objectives.
Last year, The Sun ran a front page story indicating employees at the BBC had opened betting accounts to back the eventual winner of the pre-recorded Great British Bake Off, which is screened by the broadcaster.
Ladbrokes said it had launched a full-scale probe after it saw 42 new accounts place bets on the winner, costing the firm thousands of pounds.
The eventual winner had been backed in from 8/1 to 5/6 within the space of a few hours before a number of operators suspended betting.
But is there an argument for such betting markets to be banned altogether? From an operator’s perspective, bar the marketing angle, there really isn’t a lot to gain from the offer with bets usually limited to a few pounds.
There is also the issue of operators not being allowed to accept bets when the customer simply cannot win from the outset. While the operator could argue it doesn’t know the result, as the regulator itself said, modern means of communication makes this more possible than ever.
“In a world of social media and rapid communication, the outcome of these markets is likely to be known to an ever-expanding group of consumers before the result is formally announced,” the Gambling Commission said.
Which, if the case, makes you wonder why the Gambling Commission doesn’t just place a ban on betting on pre-recorded TV shows altogether.
Of course there is also the argument that operators are responding to customer requests when offering markets on pre-recorded TV shows and so long as stakes are kept low can be viewed as just a bit of harmless fun.
With this in mind, this week’s eGaming Review poll would like to know what you think on this issue. Should betting on pre-recorded TV shows be allowed or as long as the stakes are limited it is just a bit of good fun for the viewer? Have your say on the right-hand side of the page.