Fut Galaxy
Request
Documents associated with the prosecution of Dylan Rigby and Craig Douglas by the Gambling Commission in relation to FutGalaxy.com. The files should generally be from, but are not limited to, between 2016–2017. For the avoidance of doubt, documents filed with the English court are within the public domain following the principle of Open Justice. Minimal, if any, redactions should be made.
Response
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested:
‘Documents associated with the prosecution of Dylan Rigby and Craig Douglas by the Gambling Commission in relation to FutGalaxy.com. The files should generally be from, but are not limited to, between 2016–2017. For the avoidance of doubt, documents filed with the English court are within the public domain following the principle of Open Justice. Minimal, if any, redactions should be made.’
The Gambling Commission can confirm that information is held falling within the scope of your request.
However, due to the breadth of information falling within the scope of your request, it is considered that to process your request would place a ‘grossly oppressive’ burden on the resources of the Gambling Commission. This is due to the phrasing of your request, particularly the phrase "associated with" the prosecution of Fut Galaxy, which could include numerous incidental or peripheral documents only tangentially related to the case
The Commission is a small arms’ length public body with less than 400 staff in total. The FOI Team is staffed accordingly. In responding to your request, the Commission has completed an initial search of Commission systems, which has shown there to be an extensive number of records falling within the scope of your request. Each of these records would need to be reviewed manually to assess their suitability for disclosure or whether one or more exemptions apply. Any material that falls to be disclosed will need to be reviewed to consider any relevant redactions and to undergo a quality assurance process.
Given the administrative task involved in preparing this response and the significant amount of time estimated to carry out this task, the Commission considers complying with the request would place an undue burden on its resources, when the public interest is unlikely to be served by the provision of this information. Consequently, it is our view that the burden of processing your request outweighs any value or serious purpose the request may have.
If you are able to narrow your request by scope, we may be able to process your request. However, until we review the information you have requested, we are unable to ascertain if exemptions will apply to the material retrieved, which may also prevent disclosure.
Review of the decision
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your Freedom of Information request you are entitled to an internal review of our decision. You should write to FOI Team, Gambling Commission, 4th floor, Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4BP or by reply to this email.
Please note, internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. Requests made outside this timeframe will not be processed.
If you are not content with the outcome of our review, you may then apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already exhausted the review procedure provided by the Gambling Commission.
It should be noted that if you wish to raise a complaint with the ICO about the Commission’s handling of your request for information, then you are required to do so within six weeks of receiving your final response or last substantive contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission