Tennis chiefs lobby gambling firms to close accounts of punters abusing female players

Tennis authorities are lobbying gambling firms to close the betting accounts of punters found to have sent abusive messages to female players, with one American gaming company this week already warning its customers they will do so.

A report from the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] and International Tennis Federation [ITF] published last week revealed that 458 players were direct targets of abuse last year, with the British No 2, Katie Boulter, telling the BBC she has been sent death threats and explicit pictures by online trolls.

The report, produced using an AI-led detection system developed by the Signify Group, found that 40% of the social media abuse came from frustrated gamblers, a figure that rose to 77% for direct abuse towards players’ personal accounts. More than 8,000 posts sent from 4,200 accounts were identified as abusive, with 26% of the offensive messages directed at five female players.

Fifteen of the worst offenders have been reported to the police and other law enforcement agencies, while they have also been banned from buying tickets for grand slam tournaments and for ATP and WTA tour events, but there is frustration in tennis at betting companies’ apparent reluctance to take action.

The Guardian has learned that talks between the WTA, ITF and gambling companies have intensified since the report was published last week however, with some operators indicating a willingness to suspend accounts held by social media abusers. In addition to betting bans, the authorities also want gambling companies to fund industry-wide educational campaigns about online hate.

FanDuel, a US-based gambling company, is understood to have altered its terms and conditions earlier this week, giving them the right to suspend customers who harass athletes, as well as broadening the definition of harassment.

In an email sent to its database of users on 24 June FanDuel drew customers’ attention to a new clause in its rules, which states: “We may, in our sole discretion, suspend or terminate your Account and/or exclude you from our services if we determine that you pose a threat to the safety of participants in a sporting event, or discover that you engaged in the harassment of a sports official, coach or any participant in a sporting event.”

FanDuel is the WTA’s official gaming partner in the United States. Under the terms of that deal the WTA has granted FanDuel use of its official scoring data, giving it a potential timing advantage over competitors, while the gaming company also has the rights to use video highlights on its digital platforms.

The Gambling Commission is also understood to be involved in the discussions on getting more betting companies to ban abusers. One proposal being considered is for the commission’s self-exclusion database, a tool designed to ensure operators are not targeting problem gamblers, to be used to list punters who have sent abusive messages to players.

A spokesperson for the WTA and ITF said: “The report has brought about a constructive conversation with the betting industry. We will continue to push for the industry to do more as part of a collective effort to rid tennis of betting-related abuse. We hope the gambling industry responds constructively to our call for more action on their part.”

Boulter’s revelations last week caused shock and dismay throughout tennis. One message sent to the 28-year-old during the French Open, read: “Hope you get cancer”. Another told her: “Go to hell. I lost money my mother sent me.” While a third instructed her to buy “candles and a coffin for your entire family” and threatened to damage her “grandmother’s grave if she’s not dead by tomorrow”.

In an interview with the BBC earlier this week the two-times Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur called on the betting companies to ban abusers from their platforms for life.

“I feel like we’ve been talking about this for a long time, but not a lot changes,” she said. “The big problem is the betting. The betting companies need to vet these people and look at their social media. If they attack players on social media they should be banned from betting for their whole life.”