Gambling Commission CEO to look into football betting market settlements

The regulator has confirmed that Andrew Rhodes will look into concerns about how bookmakers resolve incorrect results.

UK.- The Gambling Commission has confirmed that it will look into how bookmakers resolve issues involving incorrect sports data. The move was triggered by complaints from customers about the alleged use of inaccurate data to settle wagers on in-game markets such as the number of tackles or shots in a match.

The regulator told the BBC that CEO Andrew Rhodes will meet with key stakeholders in football betting to ensure the settlement of markets is accurate and fair. It comes after customers complained of feeling “robbed” in cases where the third-party data feeds used to monitor play and settle outcomes allegedly provided inaccurate data.

Two disputes cited by the BBC involve bet-builder wagers, which combine several data predictions into a larger wager. Data feeds from Opta allegedly misreported shots by Mo Salah and tackles made by Sunderland FC. The BBC quoted Dr. Alireza Monajati, from the University of East London, who stated that in some cases, customer complaints were valid but that “no data company asserts absolute accuracy.”

While the UK government has proposed the creation of a gambling ombudsman to handle such incidents, there is still currently no standard appeals procedure for customers who want to challenge the resolution of a bet. Operators have to provide a complaints procedure and a way to refer disputes to an alternative dispute resolution provider, but such providers can only handle contractual disputes involving terms and conditions.

The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) says it handles hundreds of disputes a year related to inaccurate data. Managing director Richard Hayler said nearly 300 people had appealed in cases of football data bets last year, representing 15 per cent of the service’s dispute resolution workload. However, cases are rarely overturned, and the IBAS is of the view that bets should be settled based on the data of third-party agencies.

Opta’s parent company, Stats Perform, told the BBC: “We take the quality, consistency, and accuracy of our sports data incredibly seriously. We work tirelessly and are proud of our data collection people, processes and event definitions that underpin the trust in the B2B services we provide to the club, league, media and betting sectors.”