Court of Appeal Judgment in “Landmark” Gambling Dispute
On 8 December 2025, the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Gibson v TSE Malta LP (t/a Betfair) [2025] EWCA Civ 1589, dismissing an appeal brought by a former customer of the Betfair Exchange.
The hearing of the appeal in October 2025 was widely covered in the press – The Telegraph, The Times, The Mirror, The Independent – and was described as a “landmark” case for online gambling.
Mr Gibson brought proceedings alleging that he was a problem gambler and that Betfair knew, or ought to have known, of this. He contended that Betfair had breached the Gambling Commission’s License Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) in its dealings with him. His claim was advanced on multiple bases: breach of statutory duty, negligence, breach of contract, and statutory illegality/unjust enrichment.
At first instance, His Honour Judge Bird rejected all the claims.
On appeal, Mr Gibson challenged the judge’s conclusions on three grounds. He argued that the judge was wrong to find that Betfair neither knew nor should have known that he was a problem gambler, and that there had been no breach of the LCCP (Ground 1). He argued that the judge was wrong to find that Betfair owed him no duty of care, was not negligent, and that causation was not established (Grounds 2(a)–(c)). Finally, he contended that any breach of the LCCP rendered the gambling contracts void ab initio under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005 (Ground 3).
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
The Court affirmed the judge’s factual finding that Betfair neither knew nor ought to have known that Mr Gibson was a problem gambler and that there was no breach of the LCCP, disposing of Ground 1. Grounds 2(a)–(c) did not require determination because they depended on establishing Ground 1. Ground 3 was addressed obiter. The Court confirmed that a breach of the LCCP does not render gambling contracts void ab initio under section 33 of the Gambling Act 2005.
Jonathan Davies-Jones KC, Sarah Tulip and Devon Airey acted for Betfair, instructed by Alan Owens of Keystone Law.
Read the judgment in full here.
