Last week, Panorama aired a 30 minute documentary on gambling addiction and revealed that in 2018 there were 8,266 complaints made to the UKGC – up 5000% from just 169 five years before.
The program focused on two problem gamblers in particular and the behaviour of their VIP account managers, who plied them with bonuses and free bets to encourage them to keep on spending even when they had lost thousands; one lost £54,000 in an evening during a single session.
Of course this is not necessarily the way all companies or even all VIP account managers operate, but it happens.
What Does This Mean?
On the face of it, you could say that this means the industry has taken a turn for the worse; there are certainly plenty of fines going around at the moment – I covered a stonking fine that made the headlines in our last blog article.
You could also spin it as a positive just like Neil McArthur, the chief exec of the gambling commission, did when he said:
“We are pushing the industry to know its customers, and part of this is actually, possibly, a good sign because it’s suggesting that consumers are demanding more of the gambling operators. And I would encourage them to continue to do that.”
Personally, I think that the era we live in has played a part too. We are in the age of internet feedback and revenge reviews – never have we been so quick to make our opinions known on review sites and social media – so it makes sense that complaints would be going up.
We also have to ask how many of these were justified complaints as opposed to bitter punters lashing out?
But still, 5000%?
Oh don’t get me wrong, there is certainly plenty of work to be done and the gambling companies need to face up to the fact that some of their behaviour is not acceptable.
A 5000% increase in complaints over five years is definitely indicative of something.
Last year, punters lost £14.5 billion which is a record amount, so the gambling companies are clearly doing alright, but what more can be done to help those that need it?
More regulation? Higher taxes? Changes to advertising standards? Only time will tell, and maybe these complaints can actually help to shine a light on exactly where the problem is.