Santander to refund gambling losses of customer

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has ruled that Santander must refund the gambling losses of a customer referred to as Mr R. Mr R received £25,000 from the sale of a home in July and spent most of the sale proceeds on gambling. Gambling blocks were set up on the bank account, but the spending continued.

The Ombudsman ordered that identifiable gambling losses made between 15 August and 17 September 2025 be refunded, minus any winnings. No fixed amount was set. The £16,000 Mr R spent before 15 August was not included in this scope. According to the Ombudsman, the bank had no reason to intervene in transactions before that date. The customer was also responsible for setting their own restrictions before reporting the problem to the bank. Mr R reported his gambling addiction to the bank on 15 August. Mr R took his complaint to the Ombudsman on 17 September.

Santander was also asked to add 8 percent interest to each gambling transaction to be refunded, and to pay £500 in compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused to Mr R.

The news notes that bank gambling payment blocks work against companies licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. However, many unlicensed offshore casino and betting sites that serve the country, and sometimes target British players, are able to get around these blocks. The article reports that all of Mr R's spending went to offshore companies and that he claims he was still able to gamble after the international gambling block was set up.

According to Gambling Commission data, people with a Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) score of eight or above are the group most likely to gamble on offshore platforms. The decision came right after this data was published. The article states that Mr R almost certainly has a score in that range.