William Hill: Gambling addict says bookmaker didn't help him stop

A gambling addict has said bookmaker William Hill should person done much to assistance him halt betting erstwhile helium was staking thousands connected azygous bets.

Matthew, not his existent name, from southbound Wales, racked up much than £70,000 of indebtedness with William Hill betwixt 2012 and 2019.

Calls showed helium was aggravated and upset, with gambling rules saying bookmakers should intervene astatine signs of distress.

William Hill said it recovered nary shortcomings successful its procedures.

Matthew, a teacher and begetter of three, had a wage of astir £35,000 a twelvemonth erstwhile helium started staking tiny amounts connected large events specified arsenic the Grand National.

Before long, helium was opening online accounts and taking vantage of escaped bets.

He said this escalated arsenic helium "chased" tiny losses, with his stakes expanding from a mates of pounds to arsenic overmuch arsenic £10,000 astatine once.

William Hill made him a golden lawsuit - its VIP strategy - and Matthew was soon staking his £2,300 a period take-home wage connected payday.

In a Radio 4 documentary named Desperate Calls, Matthew has listened backmost to 89 telephone conversations helium had with William Hill.

Most of these were to usage a work called "quick cash", allowing him to retreat wealth straight to the bookmaker without having to hold for wealth to wide successful his slope account.

This work astatine William Hill is present called CashDirect.

Sometimes helium would permission the store with £5,000 successful cash.

Dozens of these called were made from a dilapidated telephone container conscionable extracurricular the shop.

He was spending truthful overmuch connected gambling helium could not spend his mobile telephone bill.

William Hill said Matthew won galore times and withdrew thousands from his account, but Matthew said helium would re-stake those winnings astir immediately.

He said: "The dynamics changed rapidly, beingness revolved astir gambling.

"On reflection beingness was a blur, I conflict to callback overmuch of the past decade, different than immoderate highly acheronian thoughts, terrible lows and the unusual high. Not being focused connected household and the radical closest to me."

He inactive owes £70,000 to household and friends.

Many of the calls helium made to William Hill showed him to beryllium aggravated and upset.

The Gambling Commission has rules, saying operators should spot occupation gamblers and intervene if they are showing signs of distress.

Matthew said William Hill did not cheque with him connected these points and allowed him to transportation connected betting.

A subordinate of unit from William Hill's owed diligence squad phoned Matthew aft helium said successful an email helium wanted to "self-exclude" due to the fact that helium was aggravated implicit a deficiency of escaped bets.

This meant closing his relationship permanently and banning him from different online amended sites too.

But during the conversation, the unit subordinate discussed self-exclusion and different processes to curb Matthew's gambling, but yet allowed him to proceed due to the fact that helium thought the ailment was owed to the work helium was getting and a deficiency of escaped bets, alternatively than a societal work issue.

Matthew said helium did not accidental helium had a occupation due to the fact that stopping "is not a desirable result astatine that point".

"Underlying each that is you conscionable privation to triumph [the money] back".

It reached a constituent erstwhile Matthew knew helium had to halt gambling. His household took him to the GP and helium has since had counselling to dainty his gambling disorder.

But Matthew wanted to cognize what had happened: "Once the rhythm of gambling was breached I analysed a upland of information obtained nether a subject entree request. I wrote a missive of ailment to William Hill."

William Hill said: "We conducted a thorough probe into our absorption of Matthew's relationship and identified nary shortcomings successful our safer gambling procedures successful narration to Matthew's relationship requirements during the play successful question.

"Ensuring precocious standards of safer gambling and preventing gambling-related harm is cardinal to the mode William Hill operates and we instrumentality immoderate lawsuit ailment successful this country incredibly seriously, and are committed to driving continuous betterment successful this area."

The bookmaker was fined £6.2m successful 2018 for failing to support consumers.

Many of the cases highlighted by the regulator were akin to Matthew's and occurred astatine astir the aforesaid time.

A UK authorities achromatic insubstantial is owed to beryllium published soon, with recommendations for strict affordability checks and a caller ombudsman for user complaints expected.

Currently, radical with societal work complaints tin lone constitute to the Gambling Commission, which cannot remark connected what enactment it is taking, leaving galore radical successful limbo.

Matthew said: "Without important alteration determination volition beryllium galore much who autumn foul of the pitfalls arsenic I did. More lives destroyed, much families and friendships ruined and much lives lost."

Support for addiction issues is disposable via the BBC Action Line