British Horseracing Authority chair Joe Saumarez Smith has his Betfair account blocked after anecdotally mentioning he had been diagnosed with cancer.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/gamblin ... Qq3R8i8PS/
Don't tell Betfair if you are ill
This happened to a customer I once knew. Nice chap, had terminal cancer and just wanted to enjoy his final days.jamesedwards wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2025 8:43 pmBritish Horseracing Authority chair Joe Saumarez Smith has his Betfair account blocked after anecdotally mentioning he had been diagnosed with cancer.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/gamblin ... Qq3R8i8PS/
He got in touch with me to see if I could help.
This sort of stuff feels like it should be well beyond the nanny state and of individual companies. How on earth did we get to the stage that other people thought they could tell others what they can or can't do based on their beliefs.
A Betfair spokesman said: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and have specific controls in place to protect vulnerable customers, including those who tell us they are suffering from serious illness.
Yet they threw all that out the window when approached by a newspaper. Bad publicity out trumps Standards to protect the vulnerable.
Yet they threw all that out the window when approached by a newspaper. Bad publicity out trumps Standards to protect the vulnerable.
Yes, cancer can include things such as brain tumours which depending where they are located can cause behaviour changes i.e frittering away life savingsandy28 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 12:50 amA Betfair spokesman said: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and have specific controls in place to protect vulnerable customers, including those who tell us they are suffering from serious illness.
Yet they threw all that out the window when approached by a newspaper. Bad publicity out trumps Standards to protect the vulnerable.
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jamesedwards
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Explaining the start of his problems with Betfair, he said: "I got in touch with their customer service team to ask them to put up a tennis match involving Iga Swiatek. The agent who was dealing with me asked how I was.
"Flippantly, I said I was fine apart from having cancer. The next thing I knew was, when I tried to put up some bets on the World Darts Championship, my account was suspended. Betfair then asked for a copy of my passport, a utility bill and a photo of my debit card, which I supplied within 20 minutes.
Surely the world has lost the plot when it comes to personal responsibility. The state nor actors of the state should be dictating to people what they should and shouldn't do.
People, their family and so on should be the ultimate artibters of what individuals do. Moral hazard and all that.
When you start looking to the state to tell you what you can and can't do (within reason) then everybody has lost the plot.
You often see these stories where people are discovered months after they died and the family blame the local authorities for not checking on them. Begs the question of why didn't you? It's shameful, especially in this day and age when you can check in on people so easily.
People, their family and so on should be the ultimate artibters of what individuals do. Moral hazard and all that.
When you start looking to the state to tell you what you can and can't do (within reason) then everybody has lost the plot.
You often see these stories where people are discovered months after they died and the family blame the local authorities for not checking on them. Begs the question of why didn't you? It's shameful, especially in this day and age when you can check in on people so easily.
That's covered under mental illness/instability.Fugazi wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 7:38 amYes, cancer can include things such as brain tumours which depending where they are located can cause behaviour changes i.e frittering away life savingsandy28 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 12:50 amA Betfair spokesman said: “We hold ourselves to the highest standards and have specific controls in place to protect vulnerable customers, including those who tell us they are suffering from serious illness.
Yet they threw all that out the window when approached by a newspaper. Bad publicity out trumps Standards to protect the vulnerable.
He was talking off the cuff, lightheartedly with his sense of humour fully intact, and he never in a million years thought it would ever have an impact on his Betfair account. It's not as if he was talking to Betfair's chief doctor or the GC. It was just a call handler you would have thought would have no interest or authority, but it appears they must have some training or guidance to report these things.
We've come a long way from making flint tools to microprocessors, nuclear and rocket science. And it's all because people used their own initiative, took risks, made mistakes, learned and improved what they're doing. How technology is going to advance further with the government dictating everything we do is beyond me.
Fair enough thankyou, I ignorantly didn’t read the article but that’s clears it up. I think everyone is so scared of the GC so as much as BF look stupid as f*** for this, they probably had no choice but to suspend his acct.jamesedwards wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 7:53 amExplaining the start of his problems with Betfair, he said: "I got in touch with their customer service team to ask them to put up a tennis match involving Iga Swiatek. The agent who was dealing with me asked how I was.
"Flippantly, I said I was fine apart from having cancer. The next thing I knew was, when I tried to put up some bets on the World Darts Championship, my account was suspended. Betfair then asked for a copy of my passport, a utility bill and a photo of my debit card, which I supplied within 20 minutes.
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wearthefoxhat
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Sounds as though Betfair over-reached on the safeguarding issue.
For sure, it's designed to protect vulnerable people, maybe, if someone has cancer or an end of life prognosis, they may deposit and blow through 000's as they have won't be around to care about the consequences. That can be countered by, it's their money, that's their choice, and it might be on their bucket list before they pass away. Who knows, they might win a few sovs.
Agree that it becomes a stretch when you are personally dictated to and "steered" on how you should spend your money.
Personally I'm okay with KYC, ie: I/D check, passport/address, but there's no way I wilI ever give over any other personal information. Seems a lot of others think this way too and it's created an ever increasing drop is turnover as they bail out never to be seen again.
Re- The flippancy bit, although humorous, should always be thought through.
ie:" I'm ok, thanks for asking, I do feel like bombing your new London offices today though", might be met with a swat team bursting through your front door and you being carted off somewhere for further interrogation.....just saying....
For sure, it's designed to protect vulnerable people, maybe, if someone has cancer or an end of life prognosis, they may deposit and blow through 000's as they have won't be around to care about the consequences. That can be countered by, it's their money, that's their choice, and it might be on their bucket list before they pass away. Who knows, they might win a few sovs.
Agree that it becomes a stretch when you are personally dictated to and "steered" on how you should spend your money.
Personally I'm okay with KYC, ie: I/D check, passport/address, but there's no way I wilI ever give over any other personal information. Seems a lot of others think this way too and it's created an ever increasing drop is turnover as they bail out never to be seen again.
Re- The flippancy bit, although humorous, should always be thought through.
ie:" I'm ok, thanks for asking, I do feel like bombing your new London offices today though", might be met with a swat team bursting through your front door and you being carted off somewhere for further interrogation.....just saying....
That would have passed 10 years ago but expecting Betfair CS to engage in that kind of chit chat isn't going to happen in this day and age. Personally I understand Betfair suspending the account but if it raised welfare concerns then it should have been dealt with urgently in a couple of days, not 9. But the way BF is structed these days i'm not surprisedDerek27 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 8:17 amHe was talking off the cuff, lightheartedly with his sense of humour fully intact, and he never in a million years thought it would ever have an impact on his Betfair account. It's not as if he was talking to Betfair's chief doctor or the GC. It was just a call handler you would have thought would have no interest or authority, but it appears they must have some training or guidance to report these things.
What ever happened to common sense though. Quick phone call and it's all sorted.BFDon wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 3:45 pmThat would have passed 10 years ago but expecting Betfair CS to engage in that kind of chit chat isn't going to happen in this day and age. Personally I understand Betfair suspending the account but if it raised welfare concerns then it should have been dealt with urgently in a couple of days, not 9. But the way BF is structed these days i'm not surprisedDerek27 wrote: ↑Mon Jan 13, 2025 8:17 amHe was talking off the cuff, lightheartedly with his sense of humour fully intact, and he never in a million years thought it would ever have an impact on his Betfair account. It's not as if he was talking to Betfair's chief doctor or the GC. It was just a call handler you would have thought would have no interest or authority, but it appears they must have some training or guidance to report these things.