Betfair ordered to refund $150K to "red flag" punter

[BMR_Brad]

Online gambling site Betfair Australia has been ordered to repay $150,000 to a problem gambler after failing to identify his “red-flag” betting behaviour, in what is considered a landmark verdict regarding the responsibilities of digital gambling providers.

The complainant, a heavy-spending customer, in February this year requested that Betfair cash out $150,000 from his Betfair account and deposit it into his bank account. But a few hours later, and in a “desperate mindset” after losing a total of $190,000 in a short period of time, the gambler requested that Betfair reverse the transaction and put the money back into his betting account.



https://www.smh.com.au/business/com...ay-red-flag-gambler-150k-20181112-p50ffu.html

 

[GreenAcres]

What do you think about this? I reckon Betfair probably should've picked up on him suddenly depositing almost 400k within two months when he'd never come close to those numbers before but reversing the withdrawal isn't really anything strange. I guess because he'd previously self-excluded they should've just said no, given him his money and probably even closed his account. I agree with the woman from the FCA that the fine is laughable though. Not sure how that's supposed to deter them from anything.

 

[BMR_Brad]

I think I was also a little confused about the seeming high relevance of the reversed withdrawal. But that could be just the journalist focusing on what they thought was important I guess.

I don't really have a strong opinion overall though. I can see both sides of the argument and think it's a balancing act to get it right.