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Report

Consolidation of operator complaints and disputes data October 2019 – September 2020

The purpose of this report is to look at all operator complaints and disputes received by the Gambling Commission and analyse key issues, themes and trends

eCOGRA

eCOGRA received 1,142 disputes during 2019-20, an increase from 951 during 2018-19 (20.1% increase).

The main complaint type received by eCOGRA in 2019/20 was Deposits and Withdrawals (32.6%), this dispute type has seen a slight decrease compared to the previous year (34.9%).

Please note that due to a change in reporting methodology, 2019-20 data only shows Total Completed Disputes by Type, whereas previous year’s show Total Disputes by Type.

A graph showing Top 6 Dispute Types received by eCOGRA

Data from graph

Type 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Deposits & Withdrawals 7.6% 34.9% 32.6%
Responsible Gambling 20.2% 33.2% 19.3%
Bonuses & Promotions 39.0% 9.7% 16.6%
Locked Accounts 10.2% 6.7% 14.0%
ID Verification 8.9% 6.6% 8.5%
Disputed Bets 5.6% 3.5% 4.8%

The main issues encompassed within Deposits and Withdrawals are withdrawals being delayed due to requests for source of funds / wealth evidence. This is followed by Responsible Gambling, where the main issue is self-exclusion, i.e. that the consumer has been able to gamble after requesting self-exclusion.

There has been a large decrease in complaints regarding Bonuses and Promotions, which was the main complaint type in 2017/18. These disputes generally relate to bonus specific rules and in particular the maximum bet.

A graph showing Top 6 Refused Dispute Types received by eCOGRA

Data from graph

Type 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Operator Dispute Process Not Exhausted First 31.0% 40.4% 46.9%
GB Gambling Commission Regulatory Issues 39.0% 37.9% 38.1%
Duplication Dispute/Dispute Already Submitted 6.0% 10.7% 4.3%
Disputes Closed at the Player's Request 6.0% 3.4% 5.2%
Disputes Outside 12 Month Time Limit 4.0% 3.1% 1.7%
Frivolous or Vexatious Disputes 6.0% 1.6% 0.6%

The proportion of disputes refused by eCOGRA during the 2019-20 reporting period was 46.8% (535), which is an increase from 33.5% (319) during the previous year. The main reasons for disputes to be refused are consumers not exhausting the operator complaints process first and regulatory issues.

The average time taken to resolve domestic disputes during 2019-20 is 19 days, which is a decrease from 38 days during the previous year.

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