Gambling Commission to Address 'Inaccurate' Football Betting Data Concerns: Customers Claim Lost Bets Due to Misrecorded Statistics
The Gambling Commission, the UK's gambling regulator, is set to meet with figures in the football betting industry to discuss concerns over inaccurate betting statistics.
Customers have reported losing bets due to incorrect data, which they cannot appeal.
The data is used by bookmakers to settle bets on statistics like the number of tackles or shots in a match.
Andrew Rhodes, CEO of the Gambling Commission, emphasized the importance of fair and accurate decisions in gambling.
One customer, Sean Murphy, lost a potential £370 wager when Mohamed Salah failed to have two shots on target in a Premier League game against Manchester City, despite the data provider recording incorrect statistics.
Mohamed Salah scored a goal in the 76th minute, but a potential earlier shot on target was incorrectly ruled as a goal-kick by the referee.
Opta, the data partner of Sean's bookmaker, recorded the shot as off target.
Sean argues that the shot met Opta's definition of a shot on target since it hit the target without the goalkeeper's intervention.
He feels cheated and believes his bet on Salah scoring a shot on target should have won.
Bookmakers widely promote stats-based football bets, including 'Bet Builders' that combine multiple data predictions into a single wager.
Connor, a bettor, lost his bet on Sunderland making 14 or more tackles in an FA Cup match against Newcastle because Opta recorded only 13 tackles.
However, replays suggested that a tackle by Jobe Bellingham was misclassified as a blocked pass.
Connor was disappointed and unable to appeal the decision.
Five similar incidents were reviewed by football analytics expert Dr Alireva Monajati from the University of East London, who found that in most cases, the customers' concerns were justified.