After taking a closer look on some of the betting processes, Gambling Commission (GC) has warned the operators and instructed them how to correctly manage the new betting markets, especially as far as the pre-recorded television shows are concerned, as it is assumed that there were multiple cases of malpractice found.
In his letter containing the clues, Richard Watson, Programme Director, Enforcement and Intelligence for the GC, related mainly to the Great British Bake off and Strictly Come Dancing.
Last year, the lawyers from BBC addressed the bookmakers with their discontent concerning the offering of odds on the outcome of pre-recorded Bake Off shows.
In October, The Sun reported the findings that were the result of an investigation conducted by Ladbrokes, which found out that 42 new customers had registered accounts, even though they were linked to BBC and Love Productions, which is responsible for independent production of the show.
In total, there were 529 bets made by the players with suspicious accounts, as operators have noted.
It is known, that back in 2011, the winner of Strictly Come Dancing from 2007 – Alesha Dixon – has claimed that one of the producers of the show, had won £8,000 by betting on her to win the series.
In the letter, Gambling Commission mentioned also that: “There have been repeated instances of operators offering markets on pre-recorded television programmes such as the Great British Bake Off, Strictly Come Dancing and other novelty markets, following which media reports emerge that suggest there are issues of integrity.
“In a world of social media and rapid communication, the outcome of these markets is likely to be known to an ever-expanding group of consumers before the result is formally announced. We therefore require operators of these markets to demonstrate a robust management of the associated risks in order to ensure they uphold the licensing objectives.”
