Online Casino Sky Bet offers perks to gambling addicts who have entered the self-exclusion program. The law says that the program participants should not be sent promo gambling messages and offers. The company stated that it was a mistake and offered apologies.
Sky Bet Claims the Promo Message Was a Mistake and Offers Sincere Apologies
Hundreds of self-exclusion program participants received messages offering 100 free spins as a bonus for £5 ($7) spent. This incident is very embarrassing for Sky Bet’s owner, Flutter, a Safer Gambling Week participant.
The Gambling Commission is investigating the incident, and Sky Bet stated it will treat the matter extremely seriously and conduct its own investigation.
A Self-Exclusion Program Was Designed to Prevent These Kinds of Situations, But Gamblers Shouldn’t Rely Solely on the Program
Gambling addicts who are aware of their addiction can enter the self-exclusion scheme to help them fight the urge to gamble. The process is voluntary, and by entering, the participants will be banned from all online casinos that participate in the program. Furthermore, gambling websites are not allowed to send them any material related to gambling.
People who believe they have a gambling program should avoid all contact with the gambling industry in any form. To ensure they don’t get spam gambling messages, the users can register to self-exclusion schemes such as Gamstop, although reports say that 10% of Gamstop users still gamble.
Applying to the self-exclusion program is not enough by itself. Many people regret it, and after being banned from established online casinos, seek gambling opportunities on fraudulent websites, which gladly allow them access. That creates even more problems for them.
Besides losing their money, the users can also have their personal info stolen and sold, become victims of phishing schemes and fraud attempts, etc. This is a very serious matter, as two-thirds of internet users can’t identify phishing websites and emails.
