Betfred has been ordered to pay a regulatory settlement of £900,000 with the Gambling Commission (GC) for ‘unacceptable’ social responsibility failures.
The GC launched an investigation into Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, which operates Betfred, following a compliance assessment conducted between May and June 2024 that identified several social responsibility failures in the business’s policies and procedures.
Failures by the operator found by the commission included not having sufficient processes:
- To spot harm indicators with an automated process, such as spend, time spent gambling and patterns of spend.
- To ensure immediate and automated action took place to minimise harm when strong harm indicators were identified.
- To flag a customer’s account for a further safer gambling review after seven days, once it had initially been flagged for a review.
One customer received an interaction after surpassing a deposit trigger, but then no further action was taken. The customer went on to deposit and lose a further £17,900 within the next 24 hours without any further intervention.
‘Unacceptable’ failures
John Pierce, Director of Enforcement at the Gambling Commission, commented on the regulatory settlement between the GC and Betfred, describing the failures as ‘unacceptable’.
Pierce said: “Diligent implementation of effective policies and procedures are the cornerstones of safer gambling in Britain. The Commission found that Petfre didn’t have sufficiently effective procedures in place, meaning some customers displaying markers of harm were not contacted quickly enough.
“While the gaps we identified were unacceptable, the licensee acted swiftly to implement interim mitigating controls to address our immediate concerns. They have since delivered an appropriate action plan and taken significant steps to assure the Commission that their current operating model meets our requirements.
“The failure to implement an effective monitoring framework to identify and contact consumers at risk of harm at pace has resulted in a significant regulatory settlement. We expect all operators to learn from this case and read the public statement to ensure they do not make the same mistakes.”
Betfred’s regulatory settlement, in lieu of a £900,000 financial penalty, will be directed to the Consolidated Fund.
In response to the GC regulatory settlement, a Betfred spokesperson told SBC: “Following a review of our online business in 2024, we have agreed a settlement with the Gambling Commission.
“We fully cooperated with the investigation and swiftly put in an action plan to remedy the identified failings. Betfred is committed to ensuring a safe gambling experience for all our customers.”
Previous disciplinary action
Betfred has been subject to several disciplinary actions from the GC over the past year.
In October 2025, Betfred was issued with a £240,000 penalty for having online slot features which breached its remote technical standards, including ‘hosting games which failed to display the consumer’s net position and games which celebrated losses as wins’.
Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Limited, which runs Betfred’s land-based operations, was handed a £825,000 fine in December last year after an investigation found failures related to social responsibility and anti-money laundering (AML).
Betfred was also warned that it would undergo a third-party audit to ensure AML and safer gambling policies, procedures and controls are being implemented effectively.
