Betway Fined £408,915 by UKGC

This story was published more than 1 year ago.

Betting group Betway has been issued a hefty £408,915 fine from the UK Gambling Commission after the company was found to have marketed itself on children's websites.

Betway was found to have had a presence on the West Ham United team's children's pages, which is a violation of UK regulations related to socially responsible advertising. Betway's logo appeared on a page that allowed children to print a picture of a teddy bear to colour, and was present on that page between April 14th, 2020 and November 6th, 2021.

The company also had a logo on the "Young Hammers at Home" page on West Ham United's site for three weeks ranging from October 24th, 2021 to November 15th, 2021.

The UKGC acknowledged that Betway is generally a responsible operator and that the company wasn't deliberately targeting children. Still, the UKGC was keen to hold Betway to account.

Regarding the fine UKGC Director of Enforcement Leanne Oxley said, "Protecting children from gambling harm is at the heart of what we do. Although there is no suggestion that the operator was deliberately targeting children, or that children had been allowed to gamble, we take the breach of any rules aimed at protecting children extremely seriously."

"We note the remedial actions since taken by licensee but advise all operators to learn from this case and ensure that they take responsibility and have the correct processes in place so that websites directed at children do not include advertisements for gambling

Betway accepted responsibility for its lapse and issued a statement, noting: "As a responsible, licensed operator Betway has zero tolerance with marketing to under 18s. As one of the first betting operators to remove our branding from under-18s kit and supporter merchandise, we feel very strongly about our responsibility in this area.

"On this occasion, the Betway logo - owing to a technical error - appeared on a restricted section of the West Ham United website. As soon as we were made aware of this error, we took immediate action to get it removed.

"Nonetheless, we accept the fine and will continue to work closely with the club to ensure this does not happen again."

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About the author

Therese Williams // UK Correspondent
Therese Williams
Therese is a fervent fan of slot machines and pub fruities, often trying her luck at some of the top online casinos. She covers news for Casino Listings with a focus on the UK and Europe. Therese studied arts and creative writing at university and has written for newspapers in the UK.