Gambling Claims Costs: Recovery and Negotiation of Costs
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What are Gambling Claims?
The gambling industry generates billions in profits each year, and with online gambling making the activity much more accessible, it is no surprise that gambling addiction and financial difficulties due to gambling are so common today.
The UK has a well-regulated gambling industry and there are laws and regulations in place to protect consumers from gambling problems arising.
The Gambling Act 2005 sets out the codes of practice for all types of gambling activities. The key objectives of the Act are to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way, to protect children and vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling, and to prevent gambling from being a source of crime or disorder.
The Gambling Act 2005 introduced several measures to protect consumers, including requirements for operators to provide information on responsible gambling and to have procedures in place for dealing with problem gambling.
If someone has experienced harm or financial loss as a result of the actions of a gambling company, they may be entitled to make a claim for compensation against the betting company.
Gambling claims can be brought under relevant law as the result of fraud, breach of contract, negligence of the gambling company, unfair or deceptive trade practices, or in instances where a gambler has been permitted to gamble using borrowed money, such as a loan or credit card.
The first step in making a claim against a gambling company is to gather evidence of the harm or loss you have suffered. This might include evidence of excessive spend on gambling without intervention or precautions being adequately implemented, or evidence of misleading advertising or unfair terms and conditions.
You should then contact the gambling company to make a complaint. If the gambling business does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may be able to escalate your complaint to an independent dispute resolution service, such as the Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) or the Gambling Commission.
If your claim is not resolved through these channels, you may need to seek legal advice and consider taking legal action. There are many solicitors in the UK who specialise in gambling law and can advise you on the best course of action for your specific circumstances.
Gambling Claims Costs
As with all legal claims, gambling claims will result in legal costs being incurred. The most common types of costs that will accumulate include Court fees, expert witness fees, and the costs of legal advice and representation.
If a Claimant is successful, they will be able to recover their gambling claims costs in most circumstances. The level of costs that can be recovered, and the method of costs recovery will depend on the value of the case.
If the value of the case is less than £10,000, it will be considered a small claim. Under CPR 46, disbursements, such as expert witness fees can be recovered. A very limited amount can be recovered for solicitors fees in these types of cases and it is likely that any Solicitor fees will have to be funded privately, without recovery from your opponent. If it can be proven that a party to a gambling claim acted unreasonably throughout proceedings, the Court may provide an alternative order for costs, such as an order for standard costs.
If the damages awarded for the gambling claim are expected to exceed £10,000, costs will either be ordered on a standard basis or an indemnity basis. On the standard basis, the Court will only allow for the recovery of costs that are reasonable and proportionate to the case in question, subject to any fixed costs that may apply. Under the indemnity basis, the requirement for proportionality falls away, and issues as to reasonableness will generally be decided in favour of the receiving party.
For cases in which damages exceed £10,000 or are allocated to the Multi Track, costs will need to be determined using the process of detailed assessment (unless fixed costs apply). Receiving parties will be required to draft a bill of costs, and costs should be negotiated using points of disputes and replies. If costs cannot be agreed at this stage, a Detailed Assessment Hearing may be required.
How can ARC Costs Assist?
ARC Costs have a team of experienced Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers with the expertise to assist both paying parties and receiving parties in the recovery or negotiation of the gambling claims costs.
We can assist by drafting your bills of costs, points of dispute, or replies to points of dispute. Our Costs Lawyers can also provide representation should your case proceed to a hearing.
Feel free to have a browse of our recent articles and case studies to find out how our team may be of assistance.
We can be contacted by email at info@arccosts.co.uk, or by telephone on 01204 397302.
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