UK bookmakers Ladbrokes are under investigation by the UK gambling regulator after betting shop staff allegedly allowed a gambler to take out payday loans to play fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT).

On Friday, the Guardian reported that the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) was investigating claims by a self-described recovering gambling addict that staff in a Ladbrokes betting shop in Birmingham watched him take out high-interest payday loans over the phone so that he could continue playing the shop’s FOBTs.

The addict, 39-year-old Paul Jones, said he took out the maximum loan available (£200) over the telephone, then proceeded to lose it all to the FOBT within 15 minutes. Jones then took out a second payday loan, losing that sum as well. He claims to have only stopped because his phone’s battery died.

Jones says he has bank statements supporting his transaction claims, and further claimed the Ladbrokes staffers were plainly aware of his activities, as he kept checking with them to determine whether the funds had been added to his credit card account.