The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has criticised Channel 4’s programme Million Pound Shot, arguing that it presented a misleading picture of Britain’s regulated betting and gaming industry by depicting practices that are banned or subject to strict controls.
In a statement, a BGC spokesperson said the programme used a fictional gambling scenario that failed to reflect the requirements imposed on licensed operators, including rules on credit card gambling, customer monitoring and the presentation of gambling outcomes.
The council highlighted a discussion about using credit cards to gamble, a practice banned in Britain since 2020. It also criticised the programme for failing to address contestants’ disclosures about financial difficulties, including one who had recently been made redundant and another who said they had very little money.
The BGC said these circumstances would require licensed operators to consider appropriate customer interactions. Operators are required to monitor customer behaviour, identify indicators of potential harm and take action where necessary, including direct interactions, restrictions on gambling activity or account suspensions.
The council also challenged the programme’s coverage of so-called “losses disguised as wins”, saying the practices it discussed were already prohibited under Gambling Commission rules.
The BGC said the example shown involved a sound playing when a customer received a return smaller than their original stake. However, the rules prohibit celebratory sounds or visual effects that present a financial loss as a win, rather than banning every sound or requiring all game sounds to be different.
“A brief sound indicating the outcome of a game is not, in itself, evidence of a breach,” the spokesperson said, adding that the programme risked misleading viewers by failing to explain the distinction.
The council said the examples could leave viewers with the impression that practices prohibited or tightly regulated in Britain were commonplace across the licensed industry.
It also pointed to the scale of regulated gambling in the country, saying around 22.5 million adults place a bet in a typical month across the National Lottery, bookmakers, casinos, bingo halls and online platforms. The overwhelming majority do so safely and responsibly, the BGC added.
Licensed operators are subject to Gambling Commission requirements covering deposit limits, reality checks, time-outs, self-exclusion and customer monitoring, as well as obligations to intervene when signs of potential harm are identified.
The BGC also disputed suggestions that customers who gamble more frequently or spend more are automatically experiencing gambling-related harm, saying such conclusions should be supported by robust evidence.
The council said it had submitted a detailed response to the programme makers before broadcast, providing evidence to challenge several claims. It is continuing to review the programme and examine further areas of concern.
The spokesperson said the BGC welcomed scrutiny and discussion about safer gambling but argued that coverage should be fair, accurate and evidence-based.