Camelot, the UK’s national lottery operator, has been fined £3.15m for three flaws on its mobile app that inconvenienced tens of thousands of players.
Between November 2016 and September 2020, the so-called “QR code scandal” involved up to 20,000 individuals who were told their winning tickets had been lost when they scanned a QR code, according to the Gambling Commission.
The second involved 22,210 purchasers of single tickets who were charged for and given two tickets. All were compensated for their victories or reimbursed for the duplicate wager.
In the third scenario, marketing material was sent to customers who had self-excluded via Gamstop, a free service that allows users to limit their online gaming, or who had been identified by Camelot as displaying signs of addiction.
However, none of the 65,400 users were able to purchase a national lottery product using the app. This is the reported number and as we know that almost 30% of Brits participate in the National Lottery at least once, the number can get higher.
The Gambling Commission’s chief executive, Andrew Rhodes said: “We are reassured that Camelot has taken steps to make sure that their national lottery app is fit for purpose.”
According to the commission, Camelot will distribute the cash to worthwhile causes. The lottery’s license is set to be revoked after 28 years due to financial problems, and last week it was announced that plans for transferring ownership had begun.