5/25/2010 06:00 PM
betfair downgraded from A+ to A
5/24/2010 12:50 PM
betfair removes player funds and closes accountA
betfair (SBR rating A+) player has filed a
sportsbook complaint. On May 4th, the player requested a $150 withdrawal to Webmoney, however only $120 was sent to his Webmoney account. The player states he wrote an e-mail to inquire to
betfair about this. At this point, his account was closed. The remaining $150 in his account has not been paid, nor has the player been provided an explanation for the account closure. On May 9th,
betfair closed two player accounts alleging fraudulent activity, but did not share its evidence with SBR.
betfair often cites its data protection act, and generally limits its discussions regarding player complaints to
IBAS - the Independent Betting Adjudication Service that settles UK gambling disputes. SBR has written to
betfair to inquire.
5/9/2010 03:16 PM
betfair confiscates two players balancesTwo unrelated
betfair (SBR rating A+) players have written SBR for
dispute assistance. Each player had their balances confiscated by
betfair for what was alleged to be fraudulent activity. The first player opened his account in late April, depositing $100 before increasing his balance to $450. Upon requesting a payout,
betfair confiscated his $550 balance. The second player deposited $240 in mid-April and increased his balance to $1400. After the player successfully withdrew $590 from
betfair, his remaining balance of $1050 was confiscated. SBR is discussing both cases with
betfair.
2/18/2010 08:31 AM
BoyleSports (unrated) declines to discuss sportsbook complaintOn 2/15 SBR reported that
BoyleSports (unrated) voided a players winning €20 wager on an Italy Series B soccer match between Gallipoli and Grosseto. SBR followed up on the complaint and inquired to BoyleSports about the wager cancelation.
BoyleSports cited data protection as the reason it could not comment on the case, despite the fact that the player authorized SBR to inquire on his behalf. The soccer match between Gallipoli and Grosseto has come under fire in the last week with at least two confirmed sportsbooks, BoyleSports and
Interwetten (SBR rating B-) canceling bets on the soccer match due to suspicions of foul play. Top soccer sportsbooks such as
betfair (SBR rating A+) paid all bets as normal in the match.
2/17/2010 10:33 AM
Interwetten addresses €6300 canceled bet dispute
Interwetten (SBR rating B-) has addressed the €6300 canceled bet dispute from SBR's 2/15
report. Interwetten has cited third party news sources which chronicled a highly irregular number of bets on a 2-2 exact score outcome on an Italy B Series soccer game between Gallipoli and Grosseto. The score was 2-1 at half when a lopsided number of bets streamed in on the exact outcome. SBR has inquired in discussions with
Interwetten whether or not all open bets on the game were voided, or only the wagers on the 2-2 outcome. Interwetten stated that its legal department advised them to not answer these questions. Interwetten, along with all other sportsbooks which serve sports where match fixing has been proven to occur have rules on file enabling them to void all bets in such games. The most ethical course of action when canceling bets on matches determined to be fixed is to void all wagers, not to selectively apply which wagers to settle.
betfair (SBR rating A+) graded all markets normally on the wager. |
Interwetten cancels winning bet report.
12/13/2009 11:38 PM
Lay104 enters the SBR rating guide at D+. The new reduced juice sportsbook is a sister book of
BetFirstClass (SBR rating C-). The discounted vig booking model is one of the hardest to sustain, even at -107. Many have tried and very few have survived. As with all businesses the most necessary ingredient with low sales margins is high volume. Unlike
Pinnacle (SBR rating A+) and
betfair (SBR rating A+), this is something Lay104 does not have. SBR would expect the group to close the brand if it gained enough popularity and active players to show long term financial forecasts.
11/1/2009 09:38 PM
Bwin pays player in full for cancelled betBwin (SBR rating C-) pays player in full for cancelled winning tennis
bet (report below) after SBR discussed market odds with management. Players with
cancelled bwin wagers are welcome to contact SBR.
Bwin (SBR rating C-) cancelled a live tennis wager citing an
input error, voiding €420 in winnings. The player bet an in-game wager
on Agnes Szavay risking €60 at 7/1. After the match concluded
Bwin cancelled the wager. At the time the wager was placed,
betfair (SBR rating A+)
had odds from +620 to +520. This does not appear to be a case of an
obvious input error. SBR has contacted Bwin to address the dispute.
10/27/2009 02:04 PM
Bwin cancels live tennis wager citing input errorBwin (SBR rating C-) cancelled a live tennis wager citing an input error, voiding €420 in winnings. The player bet an in-game wager on Agnes Szavay risking €60 at 7/1. After the match concluded
Bwin cancelled the wager. At the time the wager was placed,
betfair (SBR rating A+) had odds from +620 to +520. This does not appear to be a case of an obvious input error. SBR has contacted Bwin to address the dispute.
6/17/2009 08:22 PM
Players vs. ShilbetTwo players from sportsbook,
Shilbet (not rated), complain that the sportsbook graded their full-game bets as 1st half losing wagers. On June 10th, Shilbet offered wagering on the Ecuador vs. Argentina soccer game. Odds history logs show that
Shilbet offered full-game odds of +300 on Ecuador, +210 on the draw, and -143 on Argentina. At least two players had wagers on Ecuador at +300, believing it to be a game wager. The game was tied 0-0 at halftime, and Ecuador won the game 2-0. The players now see that half time result had been applied to their wagers on the full game. SBR has begun discussing the matter with Shilbet.
Shilbet claims that "
In certain occasions we pick unconventional odds in order to attract players". SBR notes that
betfair (SBR rating A+) had odds on a first-half draw at +108, and finds Shilbet's explanation for the line being for the full game is unlikely for multiple reasons. 1. It was offering +210 on a first half draw - nearly double the market price; and 2. Both players and odds tracking sites would have had to misinterpret first-half odds as full-game odds. Shilbet's software does not note if wagers are on periods of games or full games.
4/22/2009 01:23 PM
SBG Global (SBR rating D-) cancels futures wagers on Formula 1 World ChampionshipsThree players wrote SBR with similar complaints. Each player had wagered on Jenson Button to win the Formula 1 World Championship at the odds of 70:1. At the time these wagers were placed the betting market, including
Bookmaker (SBR rating A+),
The Greek (SBR rating A+) and
betfair (SBR rating A+), was offering similar betting odds. SBG waited until Jenson Button won the first two Formula 1 races, voided the wagers, and offered to reinstate the bets at 10:1. SBG is wrongly applying the "gross or obvious error" rule to these bets. The line was not offered in error.
SBGglobal bettors are victim of outright theft. This sportsbook has a long history of cheating players. SBG management would not discuss the cancellations with SBR.
7/12/2007 10:05 PM
SBR receives 2nd complaint in a month from a
Bet1128 (not rated) user of voided winning wager after the event was finished.
Player:
They cancelled match ONE DAY AFTER without any explanation. Ok - if the match odd on Monfils was too high - they had time 12 hours to correct the thing (i placed a bet 12 hours before match start), they could cancell the match, let all users got message and offer lower odd of 2.8 for example. They play dirty - let their customers live in fake that their bet is valid, they wait match to finish if Davydenko win, everything is good - they take money to their customer. If Monfils win - instead paying people at odd of 3.35 they CANCEL THE MATCH?!
The player quotes
betfair (SBR raing A+) offering betting odds on Tennis player Monfils at +215 and +184 at
Bet24 (not rated). The player wagered on Monfils at +235. Player also points out that the book's advertised policy is to regrade the wager at the correct market price.
Bet1128 rules: If during transcription, typing or printing a quoted odds is visibly incorrect (e.g. 1.50/2.50) the company reserves the right to reinstate the original odds even after the result is known. In such cases comparison with other bookmakers currently on the market will, in good faith, give evidence of the error.
2/27/2006 01:00 PM
SBR Bill Dozer reports: UK-based betfair(SBR rating A+) confirms plans to offer PayPal as new banking option. PayPal removed information referring to gambling activity from sections 2.7 and 7.2 of the User Agreement for Austria, Germany, and U.K in November of 2005. PayPal.co.uk’s AUA previously included the following language:
Using the PayPal service to receive payments for wagers, gambling debts or gambling winnings, regardless of the location or type of gambling activity.
4/17/2005 11:04 PM
Betting Exchanges making a return to the US market? In the past, more than a few sportsbooks have offered peer-to-peer betting but it seemed that American bettors were not ready to follow in the footsteps of their European counterparts. Sportsbooks were unable to offer a quality product that was as easy as the book itself. However, it appears the overwhelming success of Europe’s
betfair has bookmakers believing it is only a matter of time before the next
betfair hits the US. SBR has learned that a sportsbook from the
Recommended List plans to launch a new betting exchange that functions like a regular sportsbook.
3/1/2005 05:17 PM
betfair raised from A to A+
1/18/2005 12:07 PM
Some newer sportsbooks upgraded after end of the year reviews. Mansion now holds a respectable C+ SBR rating and is by far the most interesting new sportsbook of the class of 2004. We continue to remain somewhat cautious on Mansion despite the high level of financing from a millionaire cigarette tycoon from Asia and a capable management staff. Mansion has taken aim at the two toughest competitors in the industry in
Pinnacle (SBR rating A+) and
betfair (SBR rating A+). History is not on the side of books that take on those two goliaths, however Mansion could be the exception.
11/17/2004 02:33 PM
SBR Bill Dozer reports: betfair (SBR rating A) releases details of SportingOptions bailout. betfair tells SBR that all SportingOptions player balances of £1000 or less may be transferred from their SportingOptions account. For traders who held a higher balance,
betfair will offer half-price commission on all wagers until the total discounted commission equals the player's SportingOptions balance less the initially credited £1000. Those who lost large balances will be required to wager extensively in order to fully benefit from this relief package. All players looking to take advantage of this bailout must open or have an account at
www.betfair.com.
11/16/2004 04:39 PM
SBR Bill Dozer reports: betfair (SBR rating A) to bailout Sportingoptions players. betfair expects to assume all player balances by the end of the week. This move is expected to restore player confidence levels in the UK sports-trading market.
7/31/2003 12:00 AM
Rating Changes -
Raised: betfair C+ to B+, Fonbet F to D+
Lowered: SSP D to F, Sportbet D+ to D