Your opinion is similar to many others especially the older generation , my own father and mother gave me the old mantra "you never see a poor bookie etc" or "house always wins" , it is incorrect to think that way though , this has been going on for years and it doesn't get much media attention although it is picking up a little now. I don't know any succesful gamblers who are not restricted or barred at almost all the bookmakers. In shops after a few wins your bets are called into head office or sometimes you are flat out told no we wont take that bet. I have tried to place bets and been told no only to hand the slip outside to another person who is unknown and they can bet it no problem. I have used problem gamblers in the past to place very large stakes for me as the bookie is happy to take money off these people.
I have no stats on amount of people restricted here is a recent extract from the times where a paddy power trader spoke and suggested 100 a week restricted and 15 a week closed , I agree thats probably a very small % but there are only a very small percentage of shrewd gamblers in the first place , so if your cutting out all the people who know how to make money then your giving yourself a huge advantage in making money. If gambling was a mugs game and everyone lost there would be no need to limit anybody. And I would be free to walk into Paddy Power shop and bet like you are. As a consumer champion Brendan maybe you can take the bookies on and make them treat all customers fairly ?
Paddy Power uses data to routinely screen out winning customers and to entice losers to bet more, former traders have claimed.
Two former employees at Ireland’s largest bookmaker alleged that the company’s risk management team monitored gamblers through the use of customised technology. Winners have restrictions placed on the amount that they can bet, while losers are offered free bets or, in some cases, taken to sporting events as guests of the company, they claimed.
“When a customer wins a significant amount in a particular bet, a risk manager will go into the account and see if they have had other similar winning bets. If they did, they’ll be restricted on that market,” one of the traders, who asked not to be named, said.
The former employee, who worked for the company’s risk management team, said that software was used to monitor specific criteria such as bets over €100. “They use algorithms and they can literally tell after four or five bets, ‘He’s X type of customer’. It is highly sophisticated and the biggest thing is that it’s not a fair game on both sides. People have no problem losing money, but others are prevented from winning it,” he said.
The trader estimated that while he worked on the risk management team, 100 customers were restricted on average each week and up to 15 would have their accounts closed.
Punters who regularly lost were also profiled and encouraged to bet more or to try out online casino games that offer bookmakers a guaranteed return, it was claimed.
Customers of Paddy Power told The Times that when they switched bookmakers and opened new accounts they were restricted after a small number of bets. Others said that family members had had their accounts restricted. Both traders said that risk managers used social media to link restricted customers to family and friends who may be betting on their behalf.
One of the traders said that when Tony O’Reilly, the An Post employee who was jailed in 2012 for stealing €1.75 million to fund his gambling habit, was betting €40,000 a day employees in Paddy Power searched online for his address and images of his home.
“If a brand new customer loses €10k overnight everyone in the office will be saying, ‘Bloody hell, who’s this guy who is willing to give us all his money and hang himself?’ Everyone does that. If a guy is betting a lot you want to see where he lives,” he said.
The second trader said that losing customers were ranked from 1-5. As they lost more, they would earn a higher number and be more likely to be given betting incentives.
Paddy Power said that it primarily restricted customers who had inside information or who were “arbing” — simultaneously betting on every outcome of an event, while making a calculation that the combined bets will lead to a guaranteed profit.
It said that it limited certain gamblers on specific markets so that the prize pool could be shared between more customers.
Irish-based bookmakers are boosting their profits by singling out, restricting and effectively banning successful gamblers.
Paddy Power, Boylesports and Ladbrokes, the three biggest bookmaking companies in Ireland, severely restrict some of those who win regularly.
Former employees of Paddy Power claim that the company uses specialist software to monitor gamblers and detect regular winners.
The same software can also pick out losers, and two former employees said that less successful gamblers were often encouraged to bet more or to switch to online casino games, which offer the company a guaranteed return on bets.
The former Paddy Power traders said that customers were tracked from the moment they registered and that the information was used to build a profile.
A gambler who won €25,000 in a single event had his Paddy Power account restricted so that he could win just 10 per cent of the amount the bookmaker was willing to lose to other gamblers on any sport bet. The company held a file on him noting that his bets were very occasional and that he was a careful gambler. The file was obtained using data protection law, which allows anyone to apply for all the information a company holds on them.
“I don’t blame bookmakers for trying to weed out the big winners but that’s not what is happening. Fun punters who have had a few wins are finding themselves restricted when they come along with their €40. I’ve heard of people who’ve had three or four bets and their accounts have been practically frozen. They are absolutely monitoring winning accounts,” Paul Kealy, betting editor of the Racing Post, said.
Paddy Power announced pre-tax profits of €167 million for 2014 in March and recently confirmed a merger with Betfair, the online betting exchange.
The Times has obtained images of betting slips that clearly demonstrate the extent to which gamblers have been limited. In certain cases restricted gamblers found that accounts owned by their families or relatives were also limited.
Some winning gamblers received emails from Paddy Power, Boylesports or Ladbrokes telling them that they would no longer be able to bet or that their accounts had been restricted from using the same services as other customers.
Kevin Blake, a broadcaster with the betting channel At The Races, said that bookmakers had recently started targeting customers who researched odds online, even if they were losing money overall.
“Morally it is wrong to shut down guys who are winning when another guy who quite clearly has a very serious gambling problem and is losing money just continues on. I know of losing gamblers who are given free hospitality at events and treated like kings,” he added.
Gambling in Ireland is still regulated under bills from 1931 and 1956. A gambling control bill was published in 2013 but it has not been implemented, meaning that the rapidly changing industry is still largely unregulated.
Paddy Power and Ladbrokes Ireland said that they promoted responsible gambling and restricted winning customers to offer better value to others. Boylesports denied restricting customers on the basis that they won bets. All three declined to comment on specific examples sent to them by The Times.
Irish gamblers have called for bookmakers to be regulated so they can no longer single out and restrict successful punters.
Regulations were introduced in New South Wales, Australia, in January to force bookmakers such as SportBet, a subsidiary of PaddyPower, to take all bets that can result in up to $2,000 wins on horse races.
“It is not fair to have operators profit from gamblers’ losses but then bar or restrict successful punters,” Troy Grant, the New South Wales gaming minister, said at the time.
Richard Irvine, the founder of Fair Wagering Australia, said that minimum bet laws should be required in all regions where governments financially support the horse racing industry.
“The Irish government hand out licences to bookmakers, so its their responsibility to make bookies take bets from people,” Mr Irvine said.
PaddyPower and Ladbrokes Ireland have said that they restrict some customers to offer better value to others. Boylesports has denied restricting customers who win. All three have said that they promote responsible gambling.
Wayne Bailey, an Irish journalist who covers the betting industry, said that gamblers were looking for a level playing field.
“A chap I know lost €30,000 and it destroyed his life. He never got a tap on the shoulder or an email. When you ask the bookies, they’ll tell you it should be a bit of fun but they don’t turn away customers who they know will lose serious money,” Mr Bailey added.
Numerous gamblers shared online betting slips with The Times that showed the maximum bet they were allowed on some races was less than €1. Others were restricted so they could win no more than €50 on a single race.
“I know people who have been shut down after one winning bet. The majority of people lose money anyway, so the bookmakers seem to be cutting off their nose to spite their face,” Gerard O’Gorman, an Irish gambler, said.
Kevin Blake, a broadcaster with the betting channel At The Races, said that bookmakers had started to limit the number of winning customers on their books so that they could offer more to new customers.
“The big two words among bookmakers now are ‘account acquisition’. They’re basically giving free money to get the accounts in. They want to attract guys in and then steer them into casino products that they can readily control. Bookies can’t lose on casino betting. In horse racing they have an edge but punters with skill can still beat them,” he said.
