The UKGC investigates football betting market settlements

Added: April 29, 2024

Due to worries that bookmakers provide inaccurate results, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) is looking into how football betting markets are settled.

This comes in the wake of customer complaints that football bets were settled using incorrect data, especially when it came to statistics like the quantity of tackles or shots in a game.

The Commission has officially announced that it will meet with representatives of the football betting market to discuss allegations of inaccurate results being reported. Customers have claimed feeling defrauded as a result of instances when bookmakers used erroneous data captured from third-party sources to track match play and determine results, prompting the investigation.

To guarantee accurate and equitable football market settlement, the CEO of the Gambling Commission, Andrew Rhodes, will meet with significant betting data stakeholders. The investigation is also in response to two client complaints over bet–builder wagers involving incorrectly reported tackles and shots by Mo Salah, which were linked to mistakes made by Sunderland FC and Opta, the Premier League’s main statistics collector.

Customers can increase their odds by adding more market selections to their bets on the match or event outcome with bet–builder wagers. Due to its ability to allow bettors to personalize their wagers, these bets have become extremely popular. Disputes occur because these wagers are settled using erroneous data.

Opta’s parent company, Stats Perform, guarantees the accuracy, reliability, and quality of its Premier League data feed. They do admit, though, that disparities may arise between various providers. Despite this, bettors do not currently have access to a conventional appeals process or other method to challenge the accuracy of the data used to determine outcomes.

A Gambling Ombudsman is being developed by the UKGC to address consumer complaints. The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has not released any updates regarding the ombudsman’s funding or framework, so development has been slow. Customers have few options for disputing data inconsistencies with bookmakers, although individual operators still handle the resolution of gambling disputes.

UKGC