Betfair is facing intense pressure to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to Andrew Morford, a former finance manager who lost millions on the platform after being exploited by a fraudster.
Morford had been using Betfair since 2005 and despite repeatedly self-excluding from his accounts, he continued to rack up massive losses, including £659,000 in just five years, mostly on football and horse racing. In 2018, he even managed to deposit over £550,000 before being shut down by the company due to concerns over his identity.
However, despite repeated opportunities to intervene, Betfair failed to act, with internal documents showing that a staff member raised concerns about Morford's betting activity as early as 2012. In one instance, an employee ran Morford's name through the company's records and found evidence of self-exclusion, but no action was taken.
The fraudster, who had been using his father's account to deposit funds, managed to lose tens of thousands of pounds before being shut down by Betfair in 2017. The company has since revealed that it may have made £200,000 commission on bets placed by Morford during this time.
Morford was eventually convicted of a £340,000 fraud against his former employer and received a two-year suspended sentence. In court, the judge noted that Morford's gambling addiction, which led to him losing more than £1m on Betfair, was a "very significant mitigation factor".
Now, Morford's former employer and a campaign group for gamblers who commit crimes are calling on Betfair to hand over the money it made from him. The company has hinted that it may consider doing so, stating that it has an established process for divestment of profits from problematic customers.
The case has raised questions about whether gambling operators like Betfair should be held accountable for not doing enough to prevent such instances of exploitation. It is estimated that hundreds of people are in similar situations, with evidence gathered by a charity showing repeated failures by UK-licensed operators and substantial losses retained despite clear evidence of gambling harm.
Morford had been using Betfair since 2005 and despite repeatedly self-excluding from his accounts, he continued to rack up massive losses, including £659,000 in just five years, mostly on football and horse racing. In 2018, he even managed to deposit over £550,000 before being shut down by the company due to concerns over his identity.
However, despite repeated opportunities to intervene, Betfair failed to act, with internal documents showing that a staff member raised concerns about Morford's betting activity as early as 2012. In one instance, an employee ran Morford's name through the company's records and found evidence of self-exclusion, but no action was taken.
The fraudster, who had been using his father's account to deposit funds, managed to lose tens of thousands of pounds before being shut down by Betfair in 2017. The company has since revealed that it may have made £200,000 commission on bets placed by Morford during this time.
Morford was eventually convicted of a £340,000 fraud against his former employer and received a two-year suspended sentence. In court, the judge noted that Morford's gambling addiction, which led to him losing more than £1m on Betfair, was a "very significant mitigation factor".
Now, Morford's former employer and a campaign group for gamblers who commit crimes are calling on Betfair to hand over the money it made from him. The company has hinted that it may consider doing so, stating that it has an established process for divestment of profits from problematic customers.
The case has raised questions about whether gambling operators like Betfair should be held accountable for not doing enough to prevent such instances of exploitation. It is estimated that hundreds of people are in similar situations, with evidence gathered by a charity showing repeated failures by UK-licensed operators and substantial losses retained despite clear evidence of gambling harm.
This whole situation is really shady... I mean, Betfair knew Morford was struggling, but they just didn't do enough to stop him from getting hurt. It's like, £200,000 in commission is a pretty big chunk of change... what if that money could've helped someone else who got exploited by the system? 
The fact that an employee even noticed Morford's self-exclusion, but no one did anything about it, is just wild. And now the company is like "oh, we might consider giving back some of that cash"... isn't that a bit too little, too late? 
It raises a lot of questions about accountability and responsibility in the gambling industry...
I mean, think about it, this whole situation could be seen as an opportunity for Betfair to re-evaluate its policies and make some much-needed changes! It's not just about handing over money, it's about making sure customers are protected and supported. The fact that a staff member raised concerns in 2012 is a red flag, but maybe Betfair can use this as a chance to improve its systems and training? 
Betfair gotta do better, fam! They knew about Morford's probs since 2012 and still did nothing? That's some crazy negligence right there! 
Maybe it'll set a precedent for other companies to take responsibility for their customers' well-being. We should be keeping an eye on this, tbh 
This just gets worse. Betfair's got a reputation for being a reputable platform, but it seems like they're more interested in making a quick buck than actually helping their customers. I mean, who needs to verify an account when you can just let people lose tens of thousands of pounds? 
It's not like Morford was some kind of genius who outsmarted the system... he was scammed by someone else and lost big time. And now he's trying to get his money back from Betfair? Good luck with that, mate! 
. We gotta hold these companies accountable for not doing enough to prevent this kind of exploitation. It's not just about Morford, there are hundreds more out there in similar situations 
. Betfair needs to step up & do the right thing here 
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. The fact that they lost £1m+ and the company raked in £200k commission raises serious questions about accountability 
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. It's time for change!
it's not like they didn't see red flags coming - that staff member raised concerns as far back as 2012! 
!