Consumers warned against betting fraud ahead of 2022 World Cup

Ahead of next month’s 2022 World Cup, Cifas is warning the public about the serious consequences of committing gambling fraud.

A survey carried out by fraud prevention leader Cifas, has revealed that one in seven people in the UK have committed online gambling fraud, or know someone who does, up from one in eight people in 2021.

When asked about losing money in an online gambling bet, one in seven people admitted that they would contact their debit card provider and claim they were not the person who made the bet in order to recoup the money they’d lost.

This is chargeback fraud where a person fraudulently claims they either didn’t make a purchase or receive a product in order to recoup the costs from their bank. One in six survey respondents said they didn’t believe this was illegal, an increase from last year’s one in seven.

Cifas data shows that in the first nine months of 2022, fraudulent claims for chargebacks rose overall by 172%. Ultimately, this may result in merchants needing to raise prices, meaning more costs for the consumer. A customer who routinely challenges the charges may lose access to the merchant and have their account suspended.

For the financial year 2021/22, licenced gambling operators highlighted a 30% increase in the number of suspicious activity reports (potentially fraudulent activity) submitted compared to the previous financial year. Projections for the value of sports betting during the last World Cup topped £2.5bn, with figures expected to exceed this for 2022. It is also expected that traffic will surge over 400% at bookmakers during this World Cup.

Commenting on the findings, Cifas’ Head of Fraud Intelligence, Amber Burridge, said: ‘While it may seem like a harmless white lie, online gambling fraud and chargeback fraud pose serious risks.

‘Committing fraud could lead to the closure of your current account, and potentially impact your prospect of obtaining future lines of credit, as well as loans and mortgage products. You may also encounter difficulty finding future employment.

‘Committing small-scale fraud, no matter how relatively harmless it may seem, is too big a risk to take with your finances and your future, especially now as household budgets continue to be squeezed.

‘If you find yourself spending more than you can afford to lose, don’t hesitate to seek help with problem gambling by calling the National Gambling Helpline for confidential advice and support.’

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• 2022 World Cup bookmaker traffic projection: https://sumsub.com/blog/how-major-sporting-events-affect-bookmakers/
• In a recent survey by the Gambling Commision, 43% of UK adults as of June 2022 had gambled on any activity in the last four weeks. When excluding National Lottery players, this comes to 28% of UK adults – with those aged between 25 and 34 having a higher prevalence than any other age group (34%).
• Excluding National Lottery players, the age group with the highest prevalence of particpating in “in person” gambling was those aged between 16 and 24.
• Fraud is on the rise in the gambling industry. In Q1 2022, fraud was up 50.1% compared to Q1 2021. There also was an 85% increase in fake account registrations compared to Q4 2021.

For more information, please contact
Ione Gyamfi
Press and Public Relations Manager
(+44) 020 4551 7956

About Cifas

Cifas is the UK’s fraud prevention service. We lead the fight against fraud by sharing data, intelligence and learning. The organisations that collaborate with us are drawn from all sectors, operating in both the public and private sectors working together to stop fraud. A full list of our members can be found on our website.

Cifas data is included in the Office of National Statistics England and Wales Crime Statistics of police recorded crime and works alongside law enforcement agencies in tackling fraud.

Organisations that work with Cifas, contribute to and benefit from the UK’s largest databases of fraud risk data and intelligence.

Contact us at press@cifas.org.uk