Flutter Entertainment has agreed to pay £2 million to the UK Gambling Commission following a regulatory investigation into responsible gambling failures across its Paddy Power and Betfair brands.
The settlement relates to customer interaction controls that the regulator said were not sufficiently sensitive to identify indicators of gambling harm at the right time. The failings were identified during a compliance assessment carried out by the UKGC in 2024.
UK regulator flags delayed intervention across Paddy Power and Betfair
According to the Gambling Commission, Flutter’s systems allowed several customers to gamble at high levels for extended periods before any meaningful interaction took place. In multiple cases, customers were able to make large deposits, sustain significant losses or gamble intensively over short timeframes without triggering timely reviews.
The regulator said that customer monitoring relied too heavily on automated thresholds and that manual oversight did not occur early enough, even where spending velocity and session length pointed to elevated player risk. In some instances, accounts were only reviewed after substantial losses had already occurred.
The UKGC concluded that these shortcomings breached Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice requirements around social responsibility and customer interaction.
Four Flutter license holders named in enforcement action
The £2 million payment will be made by four Flutter-owned licensees operating under the Paddy Power and Betfair brands: PPB Entertainment Limited, PPB Counterparty Services Limited, Betfair Casino Limited and TSE Malta LP.
As with other regulatory settlements, the funds will be directed toward socially responsible purposes rather than retained by the Commission. John Pierce, Director of Enforcement at the UK Gambling Commission, said the settlement reflected the seriousness of the failures uncovered.
He said the regulator’s assessment found examples where customer interactions fell far short of what is required, adding that operators must ensure harm detection systems work effectively and intervene at the right time. Pierce warned that over-reliance on automation without adequate human oversight exposes consumers to unnecessary risk.
Flutter confirms overhaul of customer safety systems
Flutter said the issues identified by the Gambling Commission would not be repeated. A spokesperson for Flutter UK and Ireland said customer safety remains the group’s top priority and stressed that the Commission did not suggest any of the customers reviewed had suffered harm.
The company said its safer gambling framework has evolved significantly since the period under review, including the rollout of a next-generation customer safety platform. Flutter said the majority of checks now take place in real time, supported by continued investment in technology and specialist staff. Flutter added that it continues to raise standards across its UK operations and the wider regulated market.
Case follows earlier UKGC action against the operator
The settlement marks the second time Paddy Power Betfair has faced regulatory action in recent years. In 2023, the operator was fined £490,000 for sending marketing communications to customers who had self-excluded, a breach of UK advertising and social responsibility rules.
The latest case comes as the UK Gambling Commission continues to increase scrutiny on how operators monitor player behaviour, particularly around early intervention, affordability signals and the balance between automated systems and manual reviews.
For large multi-brand operators, the settlement underlines the regulator’s expectation that safer gambling controls must be demonstrably effective in practice, not just well documented.
UKGC reiterates expectations on early harm detection
The Flutter case fits into a broader enforcement pattern as the UKGC pushes operators to strengthen real-time monitoring and reduce delays between risk indicators and customer interaction.
In recent enforcement statements, the Commission has repeatedly warned that waiting for customers to hit financial or loss thresholds before intervening is no longer acceptable. Operators are expected to act earlier, using behavioral signals as well as financial data to prevent harm.
For the UK market, the settlement reinforces the regulator’s message that social responsibility failures will continue to attract significant financial penalties, even where operators cooperate and implement corrective action.
