In a concerning case that has raised questions about the gambling industry’s duty of care, Betfair, the prominent betting exchange, is facing calls to hand over tens of thousands of pounds to the victim of a fraud perpetrated by one of its customers.
Andrew Morford, a former finance manager, was given a two-year suspended sentence on Wednesday after admitting to a £340,000 fraud against his former employer, the charitable housing organisation Co-operative Development Services (CDS). Morford’s gambling addiction, which led him to lose over £1 million on Betfair’s platform, was described by the judge as a “very significant mitigation factor” in the case.
According to documents seen by The Update Desk, Betfair appears to have overlooked the signs of Morford’s downward spiral, failing to act even after a staff member raised internal concerns. Morford had asked Betfair to bar him from gambling on several occasions, including a request for a permanent exclusion in 2008, but was still allowed to gamble under a different account.
Betfair’s failure to intervene is particularly concerning given that Morford was designated as a “VIP” customer, a label typically reserved for high-stakes gamblers. Internal records show that Morford was assigned a dedicated “VIP manager” who offered him free hospitality at events such as the Cheltenham Festival and Ascot.
Despite the scale of Morford’s losses, Betfair’s own risk assessment labelled his father’s account, which he used after his original account was closed, as “low end of medium risk.” Betting records indicate that Betfair may have made as much as £200,000 in commissions from Morford’s losing bets between 2018 and 2024.
Jacqui Bell, the criminal justice services director of GamLearn, a charity that works with gambling addicts who have committed crimes, stated that Morford’s case is “not an isolated one.” The charity has been supporting over 50 people in similar situations, highlighting “repeated failures by UK-licensed operators and substantial losses retained despite clear evidence of gambling harm.”
In a victim statement submitted to the court, CDS appeared to take aim at gambling operators, including Betfair, questioning whether they had done enough to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.
Betfair has hinted that it may consider handing over the money it made from Morford to his victim, stating that it has an “established divestment process” that will be subject to the case once the criminal proceedings have concluded. The company maintains that it takes player safety seriously and has complied with its regulatory obligations, while also acknowledging that Morford had “impersonated his father on multiple calls with our team.”
This case has reignited the debate around the gambling industry’s responsibility to protect vulnerable customers and the need for stricter regulations to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
