Great Britain’s Gambling Commission (GBGC) has imposed a £240,000 fine on Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited, the operator behind the popular online brands betfred.com and oddsking.com, for significant breaches of industry standards in some of its online slot games.
The penalty was issued after an investigation found that a number of games hosted by the operator failed to comply with the commission’s mandatory Remote Technical Standards (RTS).
The breaches were related to key consumer protection requirements designed to ensure fair play and transparency.
Specifically, some of Petfre’s slot games failed to clearly display a customer’s net position during a gaming session, a feature that is required to help players make informed decisions about their spending.
Furthermore, the investigation discovered that some games were designed to celebrate losses as wins.
This occurs when a game produces celebratory audio and visual effects for a return that is less than or equal to the player’s total stake for that spin, a practice that the GBGC deems misleading and a clear risk to consumers.
This is the second time Petfre Limited has faced regulatory action from the GBGC, following a £2.87 million fine in 2022 for social responsibility and anti-money laundering failures.
Although the commission acknowledged that Petfre acted swiftly to remove the non-compliant games once notified, it issued the fine as a clear signal to the wider industry about the importance of adhering to technical standards.
John Pierce, Commission Director of Enforcement:
“Features that impair a consumer’s ability to make informed decisions are not appropriate and pose a clear risk. While we acknowledge the operator acted swiftly to remove the affected games, this enforcement action should serve as a clear signal to the wider industry to review and strengthen their compliance practices – and to ensure that gameplay is fair and consumers are not exposed to unnecessary risk.”
