The UK gambling industry took another public relations punch to the gut this weekend following an investigative program’s revelations of betting shops’ failure to identify a registered self-excluded bettor.

The BBC’s 5 Live Investigates program got one of its reporters to sign up for the betting industry’s multi-operator self-exclusion scheme. Bob Cave submitted a photo of himself that was circulated to all the betting shops in Grimsby, which was chosen for its density of betting shops.

Cave (pictured) visited a total of 21 betting shops in the area, and found few barriers to accessing the shops’ fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBT). In fact, it wasn’t until the 17th shop visit that Cave was challenged regarding his resemblance to a self-excluded gambler, and only two out of the 21 shops ultimately took any notice of Cave’s presence on their files.

The Senet Group, the industry association that came up with the multi-operator self-exclusion scheme, called the program’s findings “a bit of a wake-up call” and said “we need to work out what we can do that’s better.”