High Court judgment in gambling dispute

Reported by 3VB.

On 14 November 2024, the High Court handed down judgment in Betfair v Gibson, rejecting a claim brought against Betfair by a former customer of the Betfair Exchange.

The claimant’s case was that he had a gambling problem, that Betfair knew or ought to have known this, and that in its dealings with him Betfair had breached the Gambling Commission’s License Conditions and Codes of Practice (“LCCP”). The claim was brought on the basis of breach of statutory duty, negligence, breach of contract, and statutory illegality/unjust enrichment.

His Honour Judge Bird (sitting as a judge of the High Court) rejected each of the claimant’s claims, finding that there had been no breach of the LCCP, that the claim for breach of statutory duty had been rightly abandoned at trial, that there was no relevant contractual or tortious duty owed to the claimant, and that s.33 of the Gambling Act did not impliedly prohibit (and thereby render void) contracts that were entered into where there had been a breach of the LCCP. The Judge also held that he would have rejected the claimant’s damages claims on the grounds of causation in any event.

Jonathan Davies-Jones KC, Sarah Tulip and Devon Airey acted for Betfair, instructed by Alan Owens of Keystone Law.

Read the judgment in full here.