ANJ Issues Hefty Fine to Unibet for Ongoing Self-Exclusion Failures
The French National Gambling Authority (ANJ), the country’s regulator, has announced it has issued a fine of €800,000 against SPS Betting, the operator of the Unibet brand, for multiple failures in its self-exclusion procedures that put vulnerable individuals at risk from gambling harms.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The judgement revealed there was a problem with the software used by Unibet which occurred between March 2021 to December 2022, which led to players who made self-exclusion requests having the months of the request being processed as days. This resulted in players who were trying to manage their gambling activities having their self-exclusion period reduced considerably.
This fault was rectified by the gaming operator but was reintroduced during a software update in December 2022 and remained present for several months. The ANJ stated SPS Betting had failed to uphold its own guidelines and procedures on responsible gambling, and it had left many gamblers in a vulnerable position.
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ANJ Outlines Full Punishment
ANJ says the size of the fine reflects the severity of the breaches committed by Unibet. This is because the breach of responsible gambling guidelines lasted for nearly two years and affected thousands of individuals who had identified themselves as at risk and decided to engage in a self-exclusion program that was not robust.
Another part of the punishment issued by the ANJ was to rule that the judgment was to be displayed on the Unibet.fr platform between March 17 and March 31, 2025, and on the ANJ website where it was to remain for the period of one year.
Under the regulatory gaming rules in the French jurisdiction, SPS Betting can appeal the ruling and has two months if the operator wishes to do this.
Concerning the operator SPS Betting, which had allegedly failed to comply with its obligations relating to the self-exclusion system offered to players on the Unibet website and application. The Committee confirmed the breaches and imposed a public penalty of €800,000, justified by the large number of players who were unable to benefit from this protection system.
RELATED TOPICS: Responsible Gambling
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