Free spins for self-excluded gamblers: the own goals just keep on coming

Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes told the Racing Post last week that the industry's "own goals" when it came to problem gambling were leading the public to believe operators were not taking the issue seriously.

Right on cue one of the sector's big names – Flutter Entertainment's online casino Sky Vegas – produced a blunder of a magnitude not seen since Gary Sprake threw the ball into the back of his own net by emailing offers of free spins to former customers who had self-excluded from gambling websites and marketing.

The timing could not have been much worse, coming as it did during Safer Gambling Week when the sector comes together to raise awareness of the issue of safer gambling and to publicise the tools available to customers, such as self-exclusion.