Sky Bet Failed To Protect Vulnerable Customers, Says Watchdog Sky Bet stopped working to secure susceptible consumers, says watchdog Sky Bet is to pay ₤ 1m for "stopping working to safeguard susceptible customers", the Gambling Commission has said. It did not stop problem bettors even after they had actually asked to be banned from its sites, the guard dog stated. Sky Bet primary executive Richard Flint said the company accepted that it "needed to do more" to stop self-excluded gamblers from opening replicate accounts. He included that Sky Bet had actually tried to return the cash in their accounts. People who feel they are having trouble controlling their gambling can ask betting firms to refuse their service. But 736 self-excluded Sky Bet customers had the ability to open and use duplicate accounts, the Gambling Commission said. In addition, about 50,000 individuals who had actually omitted themselves received marketing e-mails, texts or push alerts through a mobile app. And 36,748 clients did not get the balance on their account returned after self-excluding. Richard Watson, Gambling Commission program director, said: "This was a severe failure affecting thousands of possibly susceptible consumers and the ₤ 1m charge package must function as a cautioning to all gambling services. "Sky Bet reported the concerns to us rapidly, co-operated with us and has taken this examination seriously." Betting temptation Matt, a trainee accounting professional from London, started gambling as quickly as he turned 18. He says he lost as much as ₤ 30,000. "It's a 'lad culture' thing," the 22-year-old just recently told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme. "You can't go to the bar on a Saturday afternoon without having the football on the TV, and after that clearly there's adverts that come on and you get the desire to bet.