• ‘There was meeting after meeting saying, what can we do?’• Bets were shown as accepted but had been rejectedA former employee of Ladbrokes has told The Guardian that the company was aware for several months of an issue with its software systems that caused some customers to see unique “receipt” numbers, normally issued only when a bet has been accepted, on bets that had been refused by the firm’s trading department. The problem was not addressed immediately, however, due to concerns about the possible effect on profitability.
The Guardian first reported an apparent problem with Ladbrokes’ procedures for accepting and refusing bets in November 2018. From October 2017 onwards clients whose bets were referred for approval by traders reported seeing receipt numbers alongside their requested stakes, while the balance of their account also appeared to have been debited as if the bet had been accepted, even though the traders had declined the bet. The bets were also subsequently listed on their account statements as having been “cancelled” rather than declined or refused.