Gambling Firm That Coaxed Older People to Bet Thousands Might Escape Sanctions

By Jessica Whitehouse,
Editor at online-gambling.com

Jessica Whitehouse Editor at online-gambling.com

Jessica Whitehouse is a content expert and editor from Santa Monica, California. At online-gambling.com, she focuses on roulette, blackjack reviews, lottery, and casino payments. Whitehouse is also our leading go-to expert in online gambling in South Africa. In addition, she provides the photo materials for most articles on the site.

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Last updated: January 17, 2022

An online gambling firm that persuaded senior citizens to gamble a couple of hundred thousand pounds on lottery outcomes might not be punished despite being under investigation.

According to the betting committee, IMME Limited, situated in the Isle of Man and organizations such as Lotteries.com and The Lottery Center, has crudely infringed its gambling license.

Sales agents using false names on the phone said they were sighting for “disproportionate” older people, with 75% of buyers aged 60 to 79 and 20% of buyers aged 80 and above.

A client who was 100 years old when the commission began its investigation made a bet of ￡ 23,839 in just five months without IMME questioning the funding.

The company knew that two of its foremost consignors were retired mail carriers, but it permitted one to bet ￡ 20,345 in five months and the diverse ￡ 16,207 in six months.

According to the information, the team did not have credentials to client documents indicating they could not examine responsible gambling. The company did not register any discussions with a 78-year-old client who disbursed ￡ 63,951 in just three months.

The website Lotteries.com is no longer operating in the UK, but their logo is still displayed all around the world and promoted as “record-breaking jackpots”.

However, the company did not offer the possibility to contribute to lotteries, only the chance to bet on the results – something that is considered to be unclear.

In addition, the website states that when customers place bets on the lottery, they also contribute to the good cause.

More About the Survey

The survey found that the IMME expedited the work by repeatedly calling the elders.

A woman in her 90s received calls several times a week, while the other received calls every 30-40 minutes.

IMME has no website and its two prominent trademarks are no longer available in the UK.

According to the Gambling Commission records, both Evans and Whalen relinquished their licenses to run the gambling business.

A spokesman for the IMME said the regulator did not address many shortcomings, including non-compliance with the investment.

“IMME ensures that every player is telephoned as soon as they spend ￡160 and every player is assigned a customer care agent who monitored their play. Additionally, all players over 70 years of age received a social interaction call after every sale regardless of size.”

The company says it will repay any of its client’s funds.

The review of the Gambling Commission will take into account the potentially significant increase in the commission’s funding.

What the Gambling Commission Has Said?

Helen Wayne, Chief Executive Officer of the Gambling Commission, said that there is no space for operators in the UK gambling industry to do something like IMME did.

The supervisory body said the organization still operates a lottery ticket syndicate business that does not require a gambling commission license.

With the new gambling laws in the UK, the government aims to protect people who are vulnerable to gambling, and older people are certainly part of them. Considering this, every gambling operator that doesn’t follow the legislation will be taken to court.