The UKGC will meet with soccer officials over concerns about the inaccurate reporting of stats that have led to bettors losing their wagers. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Getting to the bottom of the issue

The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) will meet with key officials in the region’s soccer industry over concerns about inaccuracies when reporting statistics from games.

wagers were wrongly classified as unsuccessful

Some bettors have complained that their wagers were wrongly classified as unsuccessful by the operator due to the miscounting of certain parameters. UKGC Chief Executive Andrew Rhodes now wants to ensure that every result is fair and accurate

Differing results

Bettors can submit complaints to the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS); almost 300 individuals did so in 2023. The resolution body admitted that while issues exist with inaccurate reporting, it usually doesn’t ultimately change the final decisions of the operators.

The majority of UKGC-licensed sportsbooks get their data from Opta Sports and use these figures to settle the wagers. Some operators will take data from governing bodies or the Press Association. It’s not uncommon for different data providers to have different figures.

Stats Perform, the parent company of Opta, told the BBC that any of its clients, including sportsbook operators, can access 24/7 customer support if they notice a potential error and that bettors need to raise their issues with the sportsbook. Opta will only respond to questions coming from its clients, IBAS, and the UKGC.

Reasonable grievances

Talking to the BBC, some bettors gave examples of their grievances. One person stood to win £370 ($463) if Mo Salah managed to get two shots on target during a game last season versus Manchester City.

referee accidentally deemed one of the shots to be a goal kick

While television footage shows the Egyptian star successfully doing so, the referee accidentally deemed one of the shots to be a goal kick rather than a save from the goalkeeper, which led to the sportsbook operator marking it as a shot off target.

The BBC brought a number of examples to an expert in football analytics and they concluded that the majority of these cases were reported wrongly.