Sky Vegas giving free ‘spins’ to gambling addicts
The online casino Sky Vegas offered free “spins” to recovering addicts, sending promotional messages to those who had opted out or decided to “self-exclude.”
It comes as the UK government finalises proposals to reform regulation of the gambling industry, including a crackdown on advertising and marketing.
The UK’s Gambling Commission is investigating the incident and Sky Betting and Gaming have apologised for their email offers of playing slots and online games.
One email, sent this week, carried the subject line: “Take a peek at what your mystery bonus is.” It read: “Here at Sky Vegas, we love the unexpected. That’s right. Simply opt in, spend £5 and claim your 100 free spins. The best part? Whatever you win is yours to keep – that’s the fun in fair!”
About 200,000 people signed up with the industry-wide self-exclusion scheme, Gamstop, after a 25 per cent surge during the pandemic. Under the conditions of holding a licence of offering gambling products, operators must remove self-excluded people from any marketing communications.
Sky Betting and Gaming has breached these licence terms before. In 2018 it was fined £1m for the transgressions, including sending promotional material to 50,000 customers.
City A.M. have contacted UK Gambling Commission and Sky Vegas for comment.