This webpage assumes that you have decided to fight your case and the following:
- You have raised a complaint with customer services and they have sent your case for investigation by managers or their specialist social responsibilty team
- You have sent a subject access request (SAR) (https://justiceforpunters.org/complaining/subject-access-request-have-you-been-exploited/)
You have raised a complaint with customer services and they have sent your case for investigation by managers or their specialist social responsibilty team
The investigation is likely to take weeks, there is little you can do about this except be patient and keep politely reminding the gambling company you’re waiting.
J4P hopes we are wrong, but the internal investigation is likely to be a ‘sham’. Very frustrating, but it is extremely rare fo a gambling company not to conclude they’ve done nothing wrong. Again, it is standard practice to put people off.
It is important you challenge what has been sent to you if you think it is a ‘sham’ and that you will be raising your level of complaint to their CEO, which will include a full analysis of your SAR.
You have sent a subject access request
You should receive confirmation from a person in a Data Protection Team, which should outline when they hope to provide your data.
In the main gambling companies do provide the data on time (within one calendar month), but they regularly do not provide all your data. This is a breach of UK and EU (if you live in Ireland) data law. The missing data tends to data provided by third parties to the gambling company. This is especially prevalent in relation to intrusive trackers, e.g. iovation and financial companies, e.g. credit checking agencies.
If you think there is data missing you must challenge this and if you’re not happy ring the Information Commission’s Officer (0303 123 1113 ). Do not expect the gambling company to be helpful or happy, so do expect some hassle.
Another common problem is financial and gambling data being provided in a pdf format. Do not accept this, it is virtually impossible to analyse. You are entitled to receive data in an accessible form.
Finally, on hassle at this point, do not be surprised if the file/s your are sent don’t open, e.g. the password doesn’t work. You may think it is your fault, believe J4P, it likely isn’t, it is another delaying tactic used by some gambling companies.
When you start to look at your data, you need to be aware that you may find this distressing. People with a gambling disorder have told us this can be the case, whereas others have said it made them more determined.
This data is where you will build your timelime and the wording for your CEO complaint.
Firstly, you are looking for anything that suggests a gambling company has exploited you, e.g. you were made a VIP, you were offered promotions not available to other customers, you were allowed to lose a lot of money after self excluding, you were allowed to lose a lot of money after taking time-outs and/or discussing you may have gambling problems with a member of staff, you were always asking for more free bets/spins, etc. This type of data is usually found in the customer interaction sections of your SAR.
In the aforementioned there may be records of gambling company interacting with you about your gambling and concerns they may have. This does make things very difficult if you have told them or responded in writing that you were happy. This is unfair when gambling companies are now supposed to check on source of income/wealth to gamble when people are losing regularly in amounts that may suggest a problem. If this hasn’t been done (likely) this is important to point out.
The Excel file data usually contains your financial and gambling history, plus personal details, e.g. address, email address, etc. You need to analyse this data for signs of a gambling disorder, e.g. gambling for long periods, gambling during the night and early morning, chasing losses, failed deposits, use of multiple bank cards and other payment methods, gambling on many different products, gambling on obscure sports all around the world, a sudden change (spike) in deposit or staking patterns. These are clear signs of a possible gambling disorder.
It is now time to write your timeline and your email to the CEO (https://justiceforpunters.org/ceo-letter-templates-gambling-disorder-disputes/).
