PPB Counterparty Services, trading as Paddy Power and Betfair, is to pay £490,000 after the UK Gambling Commission found it sent promotional push notifications to devices linked to customers who had self-excluded.

Gambling Commission

The infringement, the regulator said, occurred on November 21, 2021 and involved an offer of enhanced odds for bets on a Premier League match being distributed to devices linked to accounts that were registered with GAMSTOP or linked to accounts that had self-excluded with the operator.

Kay Roberts, executive director of operations at the Gambling Commission, said that there was “no evidence” that the marketing was intentional, nor that all the people with the app saw the notification or that self-excluded customers were allowed to gamble.

She said, though, that the regulator takes such breaches “seriously,” adding: “We would advise all operators to learn from the operator’s failures and ensure their systems are robust enough to always prevent self-excluded customers from being sent promotional material.”

CEO of Flutter UK&I, Ian Brown, said the group apologises for the mistake and continues to work with the Gambling Commission on responsible gambling.

"The push notification in question was sent in error and, once discovered by our team, we took immediate steps to rectify the issue and proactively notified the Gambling Commission," Brown added.

"We know that neither Paddy Power nor the regulator received any complaints about the message."