Online Casinos Bettor Loses
The UK based William Hill gambling group was deemed the victor in a case that
involved a pathological gambler suing the company for GBP 2 million in lost
betting monies. Graham Calvert, 28, of Sunderland sued Will Hill earlier this
year alleging that the online casinos betting company did not properly handle
the bettor when he opted for self-exclusion. Will Hill on the other hand has
stated from the outset that the company was not responsible for Calvert’s
deliberate circumnavigation of the company’s self-exclusion mechanisms. It seems
that the Judge in the case agreed with Will Hill that the company is not
financially culpable for Calvert’s serious gambling addiction.
This was considered a landmark case because it concerned how much social
responsibility an online casinos gambling and betting company has to preventing
problem gamblers from betting and gambling at their facilities. And as many
predicted, Will Hill won the case. Justice Biggs ruled on the case and noted
that although Calvert was right in stating that Will Hill did not have steps in
place to prevent self-excluded players from placing telephone bets, that that
lack “did not therefore cause Mr. Calvert any measurable financial or other
loss."
Justice Biggs noted that Calvert’s pathological gambling problem is to blame for
the loss of GBP 2 million over the course of three months, not Will Hill. A
spokesperson for Will Hill commented for the online casinos and betting company
on the ruling, "We stated from the outset that there was no case to answer to
Mr. Calvert. The judge found that no general duty of care is owed to problem
gamblers and that Hills handling of Mr. Calvert's calls did not cause his loss."
And to further compound Calvert’s case, Justice Biggs mandated that Calvert pay
80 percent of Will Hill’s court costs, which will come in right around GBP
336,000. |