Betting bosses rake in £100 million

Bosses at the biggest gambling countries in Britain have been paid a staggering £100 million over the last seven years, despite seriously failing customers.

A Mail on Sunday investigation reveals that gambling giant Entain, which owns Ladbrokes, Coral, and Foxy Bingo, paid its CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen £2.5 million last year.

Danish businesswoman Nygaard-Andersen and her predecessors at the company have been paid a total of £68 million since 2015.

Entain was fined £17 million last month for a series of "completely unacceptable" safeguarding failures - the largest fine ever by the Gambling Commission.

Matt Zarb-Cousin, director of campaign group Clean Up Gambling, which is urging better regulation of the gambling sector, said:

"This is clearly a very bloated sector that has got away with a lack of regulation for such a long time. These firms are deriving the majority of their revenue from people addicted or at risk."

Tory grandee Iain Duncan Smith MP, who has advocated reform in the gambling sector, commented: "Companies should be forced to take greater responsibility for the abuses that are taking place.

"They shouldn’t be allowed to target problem gamblers. They should do more to check where people’s money comes from and [stop] excessive betting that clearly outweighs people’s income."

CARE spoke out last week after betting lobbyists urged the new Prime Minister to ditch promised reforms to gambling legislation. A spokesman said:

"Problem gambling has reached endemic levels and it's fueled by legislation – the Gambling Act 2005 – that is simply not fit for purpose. The next Prime Minister must respond to the needs of vulnerable people being preyed upon by a greed-driven industry, rather than the wants of those profiting within the industry itself."