Gambling Commission gets tough on novelty betting

UK-facing operators could have their licence placed under review following reports of suspicious betting activity around pre-recorded television shows.

The warning comes from the Gambling Commission, which in a letter to operators said it had seen “repeated instances” of operators offering markets on pre-recorded TV programmes and then highlighting suspicious betting activity to media outlets.

“This media reporting appears to have originated from the operators themselves who purport to have either over-exposed their liability or identified integrity concerns tenuously linked to the programme or event,” the letter read.

“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.

“We therefore require operators of these markets to demonstrate a robust management of the associated risks in order to ensure they uphold the licensing objectives.”

The regulator added that should it become aware of similar instances in the future, it would not hesitate to place associated operators’ licences under review.

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.

A spokesperson for Ladbrokes this morning told EGR the offer of some novelty markets had become “unattractive due to suspicious betting, albeit on a small scale”.