High Stakes: Real stories from the murky world of online gambling

It’s been reported that gambling companies target the poorest areas in the UK for profit. That they use predatory profiling to send aggressive marketing campaigns to carefully selected targets. In some cases, they may even be selling their users data to social media giants for cash.

You may think gambling companies are bound by strict regulations, but the experiences of many UK consumers suggest that this sector is incredibly challenging for ordinary people to navigate – and puts their mental and financial wellbeing at serious risk.

The 2005 Gambling Act sets out how gambling in Great Britain is regulated. The Gambling Commission is responsible for issuing licences and taking regulatory action against operators who fail to meet their obligations, including social responsibility.

Yet, in the digital age, when more and more people are gambling online, all kinds of new threats are emerging.

A growing number of unregulated firms operate online. Many are registered overseas, allowing them to avoid UK laws and exploit British consumers with little oversight.

And even within the bounds of UK regulation, all manner of aggressive marketing tactics are being used to lure people into harmful cycles of betting. This includes algorithms which track users’ habits in real time and then target them with personalised incentives, offers, and reminders.

There are thousands of people struggling everyday to stay in control of their habits and behaviour when it comes to gambling. While society often places blame on the individual, what is clear is that people are being deliberately exploited — especially when they try to make positive changes like self-excluding or reducing their spending.

Recently, we issued a public call for personal stories about gambling — and we were overwhelmed by the response.

Those who got in touch about their experiences attested to the fact that when it comes to the gambling sector vulnerability often becomes a gateway for further exploitation, not protection.

These are some of their stories…

The limits of self-exclusion

The ability to self-exclude is often cited as a clear way for people to tap out of gambling if it is becoming a problem for them. Via Gamstop people are able to ensure that they are prevented from using gambling websites and apps run by companies licensed in Great Britain, for a period of their choosing.

Yet many people reported how signing up to Gamstop seemed to make things worse – as an indicator that someone is more vulnerable and struggles with their gambling habits it can put a target on peoples backs when it comes to aggressive digital marketing.

“…many of the marketing emails I receive say “Guess what – we’re not on Gamstop!””

Benjamin reached out to us to share how “I now receive at least 40 emails and texts per day from casinos, most of which I’ve never signed up for. It is constant – – I even forward them to 7726 on my phone provider so they stop but they still come. I’m now at the point of finding it so frustrating that I am considering changing my number – despite the fact that this will be such a hassle.

I have joined Gamstop to try and curb my gambling. Yet I have noticed that many of the marketing emails I receive say “Guess what – we’re not on Gamstop!” Many companies will say they care about problem gambling at the same time as they send marketing emails encouraging it. It is terrible and I am approaching my wits end. On top of the gambling firms, I’ve now got loan companies doing the same thing – despite the fact that I’ve never applied for a loan!”

We also heard from Marc, who reported how “over the last 6 months every advert I have had on Facebook has been slots or gambling sites. I even banned myself with Gamstop because it was so bad – but this has done nothing. I still have constant gambling adverts on my feed even after I’ve been self banned for over a month, maybe 2 months now.”

Data sharing

Gamstop can be helpful by stopping people using licensed gambling sites, but does nothing to prevent them signing up to unlicensed firms. It also does nothing to curb the aggressive online marketing campaigns.

As we have previously reported, part of what makes this marketing so harmful is illegal data sharing going on: where gambling companies pass their users details on to social media giants like Meta, as well as loan companies and other marketing lists, who pile on additional pressure.

“[A]ll I’ve been seeing on social media is adverts for casinos…”

In response to our call for stories, Jacqueline reached out: “I couldn’t believe it when I read your call for stories about gambling data breaches and read more about gambling ads on social media. I did once have a problem with gambling and was with Gamstop for some time. However, for a while now all I’ve been seeing on social media is adverts for casinos. Honestly, I’ve been baffled by it. As far as I’m aware I’ve never searched anything casino related on Facebook before. On top of the ads on social media, my email inbox is constantly full of sites offering promotions, like free spins and big welcome bonuses. The majority of these sites and casinos I don’t even recognise: I’ve never heard of them before, let alone searched for them. After reading more about the gambling data breach scandal, I have been beginning to wonder if this has happened to me.”

“It has to stop – for people like myself, who suffer with depression and anxiety and have had problems with gambling these sites can literally destroy your life! It’s so easy to end up playing compulsively, way more than is classed as fun, then having to borrow to get by – and with that comes the embarrassment, the shame, the guilt, the lies. When pay day comes you can’t even move on because you have to pay back the people that helped you out. It goes on and on and all the while these sites are pumping peoples inboxes and feeds full of ads to lure us in.”

“…I can’t keep up with closing the ads: for every one I close, two more open.”

We also heard from Samantha who self-identified as a problem gambler: “It’s awful for my family and friends – I borrow money, I’ve lied to get money to play, I have a serious problem. I’m trying very hard to control my gambling but it’s hard. I’ve noticed recently how the adverts for gambling and slot sites on Facebook have been gradually increasing. I’ve been closing down the pages, saying I’m not interested, but each day more appear. Just now I’ve counted more than twenty-three sites on my page. I can’t keep up with closing the ads: for every one I close, two more open. It’s beyond frustrating – it feels unfair and disrespectful for Facebook to be piling on the pressure when I’m already fighting a daily battle with myself.

And it is not just the companies advertising on Facebook. A few years ago, when I inherited money from my father, I ended up spending approximately £15,000 on a Facebook game called Bingo Blitz. I wrote to the management and told them about my mental health struggles, that I suffered depression and ill health. I also told them they have no support or gambling tools in place for addicts and that I felt like they should’ve stopped me and others from spending thousands of pounds. I said my spend should have been flagged to them. Although I wrote four times, they completely ignored every piece of correspondence. The worst thing: the game is advertised as a free game! You can’t win £0.01 but you can purchase to play!”

The question of corporate responsibility when it comes to people who struggle with their gambling remains a murky area. The sheer number of ways that data is obtained, tracked, and shared between multiple parties also makes it hard for people to know whether they have been victimised by unfair or illegal practices or not.

“I am being inundated… [F]or someone like me who now chases a big win, it’s really hard when you have offers thrown at you left and right.”

Jade’s story was particularly demonstrative of the complex tangles people can get caught up in, where it is unclear whether there is any recourse to protection:

“Over the years, there are a huge amount of gambling sites I’ve used: some are regulated in the UK and others abroad. It’s not always easy to tell whether they are regulated by The Gambling Commission or not, so I have just signed up and accepted terms and conditions. Most sites are something or another to do with each other – especially the ones with the big welcome bonuses. The cycle of losing money to these sites, and then trying to get my money back has caused me to develop a serious gambling addiction. As a single mother on benefits, already under a lot of pressure, this has been terrible for my mental health. I had never considered the fact that it was not normal to be receiving so many emails and ads.

The marketing is relentless – I am being inundated by emails and ads asking me to sign up to numerous casino sites, tempting me with amazing offers and welcome bonuses. I receive emails every single day from numerous sites – typically the ones I have signed up with, and their sister and partner sites. If I block them, they still come – just from other sites. I also get adverts from non-trusted sites on social media, including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram. And so does my family! I can’t tell whether this is an IP address situation and not just my personal data being shared between firms – or if this is the same thing?

This has been going on for around 4-5 years but within the last year, when my gambling has become out of control, I’ve definitely noticed it getting worse. I have seen some other disturbing things. One time, a casino site did a background check and found that I was in debt, with a CCJ on my record. A few days later they flooded me with messages asking me to come back and play with 100%, 50% and other match bonuses. It left me feeling very depressed and embarrassed. I know that I need to address my gambling habit – but for someone like me who now chases a big win, it’s really hard when you have offers thrown at you left and right. Even when I have banned myself from a casino, on many occasions they will still be throwing offers at me – when I complain they say that it’s nothing to do with them as a whole but their marketing side.”

Problems with withdrawing winnings

Another issue that kept coming up was that of withdrawals. This is something we’ve heard about over the years – with consumers reporting a whole range of gambling companies, from obscure online casinos to huge high-street brands, which will happily let you pay to play, but when the time comes to withdraw your winnings the company was “unable to find” the details of their account, or the balance simply disappeared due to some mysterious technical issue.

“[W]hen I asked when [my pending withdrawals would] clear I never had a straight answer. Eventually I reversed these deposits and lost them on the site.”

Kriss shared his story with us:

“I signed up to various well-known sites after taking out multiple loans with a local firm. I was able to immediately deposit thousands, with seemingly no KNC (Know Your Customer) checks taking place. Eventually, I had around €44,000 pending in withdrawals. Yet these withdrawals remained pending for over a week, and when I asked when they’d clear I never had a straight answer. Eventually I reversed these deposits and lost them on the site.”

The house always wins

These stories represent just a handful of what we received. What is clear is that these are not isolated incidents. They are part of a much larger pattern that demands urgent attention.

The UK has one of the largest gambling markets in the world, generating a profit of £14.2 billion in 2020. It’s estimated that around 430,000 people in the UK have a serious gambling problem, with another 2 million at risk of developing one.

It is an ugly truth that these profits are being built on the back of systemic failures of responsibility, including data breaches, ignored self-exclusion requests, and severe difficulties withdrawing winnings. If there is anything to learn from these stories it’s that the house always wins.

With Resolver Stories you can read real experiences of people fighting for fairness and share your own. Whether you scored a big win or are stuck in an absurd or never-ending nightmare, we want to hear from you!