Problem gambler takes Ladbrokes to court

An alleged failure to stop a gambler playing has landed British bookmaker Ladbrokes with a legal action.

The Times newspaper has reported that gambler Simon Rose launched a High Court action against the bookmaker – part of Entain – for allowing him to lose £231,000 over seven months of betting between 2015 and 2016.

He had wagered a total of £1.8m, betting an average of £18,000 on the days that he played, having been given a daily deposit of £20,000 despite him having take-home pay of just £3,000 per month.

Rose alleges that it was a failure on the part of Ladbrokes to protect its customers from problem gambling and also breaching the AML regulations.

He alleges that Ladbrokes should have monitored his levels of excessive betting and contacted him directly, or placed restrictions on his account or verified his source of funds.

Ladbrokes has denied that it breached any contractual terms. It was not until May of 2016 that the company confirmed he had borrowed money to place bets and was gambling more than he could afford. Rose self-excluded from that month.