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.
10/5/2009 12:40 PM
Player vs Canbet: ibas rules in favor of Canbet regarding 27 cancelled correlated wagersOn May 22nd SBR first reported on
Canbet (SBR rating C) cancelling 27 correlated NCAA football parlays. The parlays were for full game sides and totals. Canbet's position was that their software is never supposed to accept parlays in which the pointspread exceeds 33% of the total. The software accepted 27 parlays from the same player and all bets were graded as normal.
Canbet voided all wagers one day after the games had been settled after the player made a withdrawal request. Today the player has reported to SBR that he received a letter from
ibas ruling in favor of Canbet. It is not unusual for
ibas to side with sportsbooks in these cases. SBR will continue to pursue the case.
5/20/2009 09:29 PM
Bet1128 (SBR rating D+) Confiscation update: On October 28, 2008 SBR reported that a group of
Bet1128 players had their winnings confiscated. SBR reviewed the dispute and stated that Bet1128 should pay the five complaining players their full winnings and confiscated deposits, totaling over $100,000. Bet1128 refused. The players brought their complaints to
ibas, an arbitration service advertised on Bet1128's homepage.
ibas ruled in favor of the players, stating that Bet1128 should pay full the balances on each account. One player has subsequently asked for his $34,000 balance.
Bet1128 has thus far offered to pay him in installments of only $5,000 per week.
5/12/2009 10:52 PM
Totesport vs. Player: ibas finds in favor of sportsbookOn
1/29/2009 SBR reported on a player's
ToteSport complaint. The sportsbook had changed the player's winning wager, making it a losing bet.
Totesport (SBR rating B-) gives player wager he did not place
On
January 17, 2009, a player wagered 125 Sterling on Wolverhampton +1
goal at the price of +433. After Wolverhampton covered, he found an
email from Totesport telling him there was an
"input error," commonly referred to as a "bad line" when talking about
American sports. As a result of this "error" Totesport reversed the spread, changing his winning wager into a losing one. Totesport's
terms and conditions allow it to adjust prices, but not spreads. When
confronted with this fact by the player, it would not cite a rule
allowing it to take this action. Totesport would not discuss the issue with SportsbookReview.
ibas reviewed the dispute between the player and Totesport, and ruled in favor of Totesport. In its ruling,
ibas did not consider whether Totesport's rules allow it to alter the spread in a pending wager.
ibas states it is an independant third party organization servicing the UK gambling industry.
ibas stands for Independent Betting Adjudication Service. |
ibas Opinion
10/28/2008 07:42 PM
Bet1128 (SBR rating D+) player complains the sportsbook confiscated his balance of over $37,000 Euros the week of August 24, 2008. He was one of five complaining players that won over $100,000 Euros combined betting on Olympic boxing round-robin parlays.
Bet1128 closed all the player accounts and seized all balances including deposits, claiming they were a betting syndicate. Bet1128 does not claim the players exceeded the maximum stake per bet with multiple accounts, bet from the same location or at the same time, or exceeded the one-day maximum win amount of $150,000 Euros. Their sole explanation was:
"Our customer XXXXX YYYYY has been linked to a group of punter. It’s our right to protect ourselves against this kind of strategy, which is unfair and deemed as cheating by our terms and conditions. We are able to prove the link of these players and ready to show to the relevant body. We are looking forward to receive official request from all the person involved in the affair, in order to clarify our position as soon as possible."
Bet1128 failed to provide valid reasons for their actions. The sportsbook states that an
ibas investigation is pending. Bet1128's rules do not prohibit players from sharing wagering information. The player admits to knowing the other sports bettors and states he did not initiate or take part in an investigation with third party,
ibas.