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Request date: 20 July 2023
This version was printed or saved on: 9 May 2025
Online version: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/about-us/freedomofinformation/betfair-special-measures-report
I am requesting:
I also understand Betfair has divested £635,000 also and:
Thank you for your request which has been processed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
In your email you have requested:
Special measures report – Law enforcement (Section 31)
S31(1) provides that information which is not exempt information by virtue of section 30 is exempt information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice –
g) the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2).
The relevant purpose referred to subsection (2) are –
c) the purpose of ascertaining whether circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any enactment exist or may arise, d) the purpose of ascertaining a person’s fitness or competence in relation to the management of bodies corporate or in relation to any profession or other activity which he is, or seeks to become, authorised to carry on.
The Commission is a regulatory body with licensing, compliance, and enforcement functions; through our regulatory activity, the Commission aims to protect consumers and the wider public, and to raise standards in the gambling industry.
A key aim of the Commission is to ensure that licensed businesses are compliant in the shortest possible time - this protects consumers fastest and reduces the chances of crime entering businesses. One of the tools we use to ensure operators who need to make key improvements are swiftly compliant is to place them into special measures.
Any information that we can publicly disclose in relation to particular regulatory activities is made available on our website at the appropriate time so as not to disclose any information that could impact on our ability to make enquiries and conduct investigations. Whilst the Commission has formal powers to compel the provision of information from licence holders in certain circumstances, the Commission relies heavily on the provision of information on a voluntary basis across several of the Commission’s functions (including licensing, compliance and enforcement and other aspects of its regulatory remit which include the provision of information by licensees). The voluntary supply of information enables the Commission to obtain information:
(i) without the cost and delays occasioned by reliance on formal enforcement powers,
(ii) in circumstances where no formal powers exist or are limited in scope and
(iii) which is pro-actively shared by operators on an open and transparent basis.
The Commission therefore considers disclosure of this information would undermine the willingness of operators to provide information on a voluntary basis and accordingly prejudice the ability of the Commission to discharge its regulatory functions.
Public interest test
Along with assessing whether releasing the information requested would, or is likely to, prejudice its regulatory functions, the Commission also has a duty under FOIA to consider whether, despite that prejudice, it is in the public interest to disclose this information.
The factors the Commission has considered when applying the public interest test have been detailed below. Our view is that the public interest lies in favour of applying the exemption.
In favour of disclosure
The Commission is a public body which is required to regulate the gambling industry in the public interest. There is therefore a public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the information it holds so that it can be held to account. It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions in ensuring that any individuals/organisations who are involved in providing gambling facilities to the public have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the licencing objectives ensuring that consumers are protected.
Disclosure of the requested information could demonstrate to stakeholders and relevant parties how the Commission is assessing licensees and, furthermore, this disclosure may encourage stakeholders to work with us and contribute to our programme of work, increasing confidence in the Commission as a regulator and its ability to uphold the law.
In favour of maintaining the exemption
Once licensed, gambling operators are subject to ongoing compliance requirements and are subject to regulatory action should they fail to meet their licence requirements. Information collated as part of this process is used to assess whether a person or entity is fit to hold a licence.
The Commission has robust and effective processes and procedures in place which are utilised when assessing licensees. These procedures and processes are put in place to minimise the risk of an operator being allowed to continue to offer gambling facilities where they do not meet the required standards. This demonstrates to the public at large that they can have confidence in the Commission’s licence assessment processes.
There is an expectation of confidence in much of the Commission’s work, particularly regarding the techniques used to ascertain if action is required where an operator is concerned. It is the impact on this work of the Commission which is more likely to be affected by disclosure. The amount of specific information the Commission can release relating to our regulatory techniques is limited as this could lead to potentially non-compliant operators altering their behaviour specifically to meet the Commission’s standards purely for assessment purposes. Allowing them to tailor the information they provide to the Commission in a strategic manner. This in turn may impact on the Commission’s function of ascertaining a gambling operator’s fitness to carry out gambling activities.
However, in order to promote transparency, there is information that is publicly available, both on our website but also via the Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice which clearly sets out the required standards with which operator licensees are expected to comply. The Commission has also already publicly confirmed that failings in respect of social responsibility and anti-money laundering concerns, and that as a result, Betfair entered into the special measures process. We also confirmed that, in May 2021 the operator exited this process because we considered they were now implementing effective policies and processes aimed at keeping gambling fair, safe and crime free. Therefore, it is our view that there is sufficient information publicly available about the assessment process and assessment framework to adequately address the public interest in transparency in respect of this matter.
The Commission also publishes other information in relation to how it assesses licensees, including its Statement of principles for licensing and regulation - Gambling Commission. Therefore, to the extent that there is a public interest in transparency around the assessment of a licensee’s suitability to provide gambling facilities, this is already met by the material the Commission proactively publishes.
Disclosure of this information would also undermine the Commission's ability to uphold the licensing objectives which would impact on the trust and confidence of the public in it as a regulator.
Weighing the balance
The Commission acknowledges that there is a public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency of public authorities and the importance of having sufficient information in the public domain to support consumers with their choice of operator, however, disclosure of the information would be damaging to the Commission as a regulatory body which ultimately serves to protect the wider public interest.
It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions in ensuring that any individuals/organisations who are involved in providing gambling facilities to the public have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the licencing objectives ensuring that consumers are protected.
However, there is a strong public interest in preserving the processes that the Commission uses to assess licensees and identify any operators who are not complying with the licensing requirements. The public trust that the Commission has robust processes in place to assess operators so that when they use the services provided by an operator, they are confident that there has been sufficient scrutiny of that operator to ensure that they are protected. If this information were released it would undermine that confidence.
We consider that the public interest is better served by withholding the documentation ensuring that consumers are protected through our processes rather than releasing information about our processes which in our view will not benefit the public as a whole.
Destination of divestment payment
Further to this you have requested information relating to the £635,000 Betfair has divested. Specifically, where these funds have been divested to.
As a result of the special measures process the operator divested £635,123 to charities furthering the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.
Information relating to the destinations of regulatory settlements to be applied for socially responsible purposes can be viewed on the Gambling Commission website: Destinations of regulatory settlements to be applied for socially responsible purposes.
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.
The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new tab), Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission
Victoria Square House
Victoria Square
Birmingham B2 4BP
I believe this is in the public interest to make available a copy of the Betfair special measures report. One of your core principles is about protecting consumers from harm. Someone died when Betfair were in Special Measures, yet you still think it's not in wider public interest to have available this information so as to make an informed choice as to if/who they bet with.
I requested where the divested funds of £635,000 went. There is zero listing on the website link you provided as to the organisations and the amounts? Should I raise this with the Charity Commission, as it seems a bit strange £635,000 of money is unaccounted for?
I am writing to you further to your Freedom of Information request dated 20/07/2023, which we responded to on 23/08/2023, and your subsequent request for an internal review received on 11/09/2023.
We have now concluded our review and our findings are detailed below.
This internal review was conducted by someone who was not involved in the processing of your original request.
In your initial email you requested the following information:
In our response, to your first FOI request, the Commission confirmed its position as follows:
We considered this to be exempt under section 31(1)(g) of the FOIA, which exempts information where disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the exercise by any public authority of its functions for any of the purposes specified in subsection (2).
The Commission considered the subsections below apply and therefore the information was exempt from disclosure:
i. Subsection 31(2)(a) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether any person has failed to comply with the law.
ii. Subsection 31(2)(b) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper.
iii. Subsection 31(2)(c) refers to the purpose of ascertaining whether circumstances which would justify regulatory action in pursuance of any enactment exist or may arise.
iv. Subsection 31(2)(d) refers to the purpose of ascertaining a person’s fitness or competence in relation to the management of bodies corporate or in relation to any profession or other activity which he is, or seeks to become, authorised to carry on.
The Commission confirmed that as a result of the special measures process the operator divested £635,123 to charities furthering the National Strategy to Reduce Gambling Harms.
Internal review
In your request for an internal review, you have argued that it is in the public interest to make available a copy of the Betfair special measures report.
However, due to the Commission’s responsibilities as the regulator of gambling in Great Britain, we advised that any information relating to individual licensees and the regulatory work of the Commission was exempt from disclosure under section 31(1)g of the FOIA (law enforcement) and therefore will not be released.
After reviewing your request and our response, I uphold our original decision to engage the section 31(1)g exemption. My considerations for this decision are detailed below.
In our response we advised that the Commission is a regulatory body with licensing, compliance, and enforcement functions and through our regulatory activity, the Commission aims to protect consumers and the wider public, and to raise standards in the gambling industry.
The Commission takes steps to publish information, ensuring the transparency and accountability of its regulatory work. Specific details of correspondence between individual Licensees, does not contribute to the overall understanding of the gambling industry.
We release details of our enforcement activity through public statements, which can be found on our website here:
When we publish these statements, we take care to present as much information as possible to ensure that lessons can be learned, and standards raised in the industry. However, we must also be careful not to reveal any information that could hinder our ability to conduct investigations or enable those we may investigate to avoid detection.
As stated in our original response, the Gambling Commission do not provide comment on any regulatory work we may or may not be undertaking, unless it is in the public interest to do so.
As the public body, which is required to regulate the gambling industry, we acknowledge that there is a legitimate public interest in promoting the accountability and transparency of the Commission. There is a public interest in members of the public having confidence the Commission is being open and honest with the information it holds so that it can be held to account. Further to this, it is important that there is sufficient information in the public domain, so consumers have an understanding of the regulatory activity that the Commission is taking to enable them to make informed decisions regarding their choice of operator.
However, there is an expectation of confidence in much of the Commission’s work, particularly regarding individual operators. It is the impact on this, which is more likely to be affected by disclosure.
It is important that the public are assured that the Commission is carrying out its functions, in ensuring that any individuals or organisations providing gambling facilities have undergone the necessary assessments and will uphold the licencing objectives ensuring that consumers are protected. The Commission has robust and effective processes and procedures in place which are utilised when assessing potential and existing licensees.
These procedures and processes have been put in place to minimise the risk of an operator continuing to provide gambling services where they do not meet the required standards. This demonstrates to the public at large that they can have confidence in the Commission’s compliance assessment processes. The amount of specific information the Commission can release relating to our licensees may impact on the Commission’s function of ascertaining a gambling operator’s fitness to carry out gambling activities.
Finally, disclosure of this information would prejudice the Commission's ability to uphold the licensing objectives which would impact on the trust and confidence of the public in it as a regulator.
After consideration of the above arguments, I consider that the public interest is better served by withholding this information, ensuring that consumers are protected through our processes rather than releasing information.
For your reference, the Commission placed Betfair in special measures on 15 January 2021. By May 2021, Betfair had provided sufficient information it was implementing effective policies and procedures aimed at keeping gambling fair, safe and crime free. As a result, the Commission confirmed to Betfair on 23 June 2021 it was lifting the special measures process.
Finally, in this request for an internal review you noted you dissatisfaction with the Commissions response to your request for an understanding where the £635,000 (£635,123) divested by Betfair has been divested to.
Whilst the Commission provided information relating to this part of your request in our initial response, this element was further explored in a second FOI request submitted by yourself on 23/08/2023. The Commission's response to this request is currently subject to a separate internal review and a separate response will be sent to you in due course.
If you are not content with the outcome of your review, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the Gambling Commission. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Information Management Team
Gambling Commission