Petfre operates Betfred and Oddsking brands. The company must pay £240,000 ($323,000) for breaking slot machine rules.
Key Points
- Graphics showed losses like victories on certain slot machines.
- Players couldn’t understand game results properly, according to the Gambling Commission.
- The company removed problem games and paid a £240,000 penalty.
Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited Penalised for Misleading Slot Machine Features
The UK’s Gambling Commission (GC) ordered Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited to pay £240,000 ($323,000). The penalty comes from slot machine standard violations. Betfred and Oddsking belong to the Petfre company. Remote gambling rules and software technical standards from the 2005 Gambling Act weren’t followed properly. Investigators found slot machines that confused players. Understanding game progress became difficult for users.
Problems included victory animations during losing spins. Net position information disappeared from player screens. John Pierce serves as Commission Director of Enforcement at GC. He stated: “Features that impair a consumer’s ability to make informed decisions are not appropriate and pose a clear risk.” Betfred left the American gambling market in 2024. Pennsylvania operations closed completely in July.
GC Confirms Petfre’s Rapid Removal of Problematic Games
GC’s announcement confirms that Petfre removed problematic games quickly. Fast action didn’t prevent financial punishment, though. Pierce added more comments: “This enforcement action should serve as a clear signal to the wider industry to review and strengthen their compliance practices, and to ensure that gameplay is fair and consumers are not exposed to unnecessary risk.”
Petfre and Betfred faced GC penalties before. The previous fine reached a much higher amount, actually. 2022 brought a £2.87m penalty for social responsibility and AML failures. New customers could spend huge amounts without controls; one person lost £70,000 within 10 hours after registration.