Scam sportsbook BetChance back in business

[bigboydan]

Scam sportsbook BetChance (SBR rating F) back in business
It was been three months since BetChance was telling its players that it was insolvent and offering them a settlement offer like the one below:

We have tried to contact you during the week to inform you about the money in your betchance Betting Account. betchance Limited (betchance.com ) is closing and we are giving the following options to clients;

Option 1: To pay 30% of the total amount (betting account plus pending withdrawals) in the next two-three weeks.

Option 2: To pay the total amount you have in your betting account but divided in 15 months payments.

Please give us your reply as soon as possible, by email, or send us the phone number where we can contact you, in order to notify us of your decision.

When we’ll receive the option you choose, we will send an agreement by email, which has to be signed by both betchance and the client, and afterwards the payment will be processed. For any further information you require, do not hesitate to send us an email on info@betchance.comor contact us by telephone on 00356 21489941.

Regards, betchance Limited

The sportsbook is now advertising new bonuses and offering a full wagering menu. Some players report that BetChance is still refusing to pay and pushing them to accept a settlement of 25% of their balance. It appears the sportsbook is marketing to Italian speaking players that may not be aware of the theft of bettors in other countries.

[betboost]

Scam sportsbook BetChance (SBR rating F) back in business
It was been three months since BetChance was telling its players that it was insolvent and offering them a settlement offer like the one below:

The sportsbook is now advertising new bonuses and offering a full wagering menu.

Wow, they are trying to give it a second chance? Seems like a failed operation.

[laxdjock]

Wow....their payout options suck.

Anyone have a lot of money in limbo with them?

[bigboydan]

Anyone have a lot of money in limbo with them?

Some estimate say that BetChance stole more than Cascade did.

[betplom]

When it comes to scam books like this I'm tempted to deposit via credit card and take a shot, if I lose I simply claim a ********** to my **** card as an unauthorized purchase.

[RogueJuror]

Mario Galea, the Chief Executive Officer of the LGA (Lotteries and Gaming Authority) of Malta, the licensor of poker and sports betting licences, had a simple racket. He owned an internet hosting and facilities company where the licensees hosted their products if they were smart. In gratitude blind eyes were given and operators had carte blanche to do whatever deed, qualify or not.

After 'business' reached higher ears, he proceeded to sell the company at an inflated price, and renounced last week to his CEO post at the LGA. An interim has been appointed as nobody want to deal with the mess.

Mario Galea, laughing all the way to the bank.

[Bill Dozer]

Thanks Rogue. The LGA seemed to play a part in helping Portlandbet players but like most Licensing companies, has shown it is a meaningless joke. Even those players are popping up saying they are still owed. Here is recap from last month.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Mario Galea and the Malta Lotteries And Gaming Authortity: the lies and the corruption of this puppet online gambling licensing body

In my previous article, The worthless and ineffectual Malta LGA, I highlighted the blatant shortcomings and failures of the Malta Lotteries And Gaming Authority as a gambling regulator.

Since then, more interesting facts have come to light.

In the first place, Betchance, a deliquent sportsbook listed as "F" by top sportsbook watchdog site Sportsbook Review for reasons of total failure to honour payments to players, is now open again for business, after a lengthy period of effective closure.

During the period of closure, during which no player who reported funds non-payment was paid in full, Betchance remained fully listed by the LGA.

Now that they are again open, they remain fully listed by the LGA.

In addition, the following extraordinary occurance was recently reported at Bookmakers Review:


At Betchance it's business as normal, according to the LGA

While a couple of players received 30% of their balances after signing a contract with Betchance giving up their legal rights to obtain the full balance in the future, and just as feedback from players who are owed money by Wauwbet and can't receive an answer from the LGA starts to pile in, the chief executive of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority, Mario Galea, recently rumoured to be stepping down from his position, indirectly answered my question about why Betchance is still allowed to operate.

At the recent European iGaming Conference in Barcelona, Galea told some industry operators worried about news that several Maltese bookmakers were in financial distress, that stories on internet sites like Bookmakers Review are all lies and that at Betchance is business as normal, with payments to players being made correctly.

Furthermore, according to Galea, there is an international police investigation into players accused to have defrauded Betchance.

Then earlier this week, an employee of a popular Maltese bookmaker, who on my behalf tried to get an answer about why Betchance is still allowed to operate, was told by Mr Galea the same story about players being investigated for defrauding Betchance. Galea also invited this person to stick to what he knew if he wanted to last in the gambling industry.

At this point, I really suggest players to stay away from all Malta bookmakers rated less than 4.

Date published: 04 October 2008


So, to summarise these jaw-dropping remarks made by Mario Galea, the LGA CEO who until reasonably recently was owner of BellMed, a company which provides internet facilities to the sportsbooks "regulated" by the LGA and who, it is rumoured, is still involved with the company:

1) Betchance is paying players.

2) The players who claim to be owed are liars, against whom there is an international police investigation.

3) If anyone says anything against Betchance or any other Maltese sportsbook, they'd better watch out.


Examining these remarks in order:

1) Betchance is not paying players. Bill Dozer, head man at Sportsbookreview, has chronicled the events in his Betchance news updates, and at no point have more than sporadic payments been made. Betchance still appears to owe a minimum of $100,000 USD. This is not guesswork on the part of Bill Dozer, who researches and corroborates his information before going to press.

As such, Galea's comment that Betchance is "paying players" is an out-and-out lie, unless of course Galea means "paying a few select players they choose to pay and ignoring everyone else", in which case it contains more than a grain of truth.

2) The players are not "lying": see above comments. The facts of the individual cases have been investigated, corroborated and chronicled by a highly credible source. The circulation of a partial payment agreement (thirty percent) is a matter of public record. Why was Betchance offering to pay players thirty percent of balances if those balances don't actually exist or were "fraudulent"? Why did Betchance claim to be "working on the problem", with apparent new investors lined up, if the players were fraudulent and, as such, not owed, and there was no problem in the first place?

Again, Galea's comments are nothing more than lies. As to the "international police investigation", there is no corroboration of this from any source other than Galea's outburst, and I am quite certain it is fantasy.

3) Yes, I suspect that you had better watch your back if you badmouth Maltese sportsbooks in Malta - the Malta LGA may well have high contacts in low places. I'm sure this is not a fabrication on Galea's part. However, how is the Maltese situation, in reality?


Waubet, another holder of a full LGA Class 2 listing, was defunct as of last month. According to the message on the homepage, it will be paying fifty percent of player balances.

So, another Maltese sportsbook where half of players' funds are gone.

Bettingstar 24 was also defunct as of September, according to Bill Dozer's Bettingstar24 updates. This latest Malta casualty has now, however, been taken over and appears to be paying.

As such, the security of Maltese sportsbooks does not appear all that good at all, with two books folding in the space of a month and at least one other fully operational again whilst not paying players. As such, Galea's pugnacious and threatening attitude, with dark hints at the risk to people's livelihoods if they question the viability of Maltese operations, is almost certainly bourne out of the fear that these prognostications are correct.

I would have to disagree with Betmakers' Review about playing at a certain level of sportsbook. My advice: if you know the book from long experience and are confident with it, play there whether it's listed by Malta or not. If you do not, ignore ANY rating and do not patronise ANY bookmaker which is supported only by the Malta LGA and Mario Galea. It could be a very expensive mistake.

[vanman]

I can`t believe these people have got the nerve to carry on as though nothing has happened,i`m just glad i managed to get all my money out.

[moonbeam]

From their new old website:

Betchance... Life can be good

UNREAL

[Kingctb27]

F them

[simmmy]

When it comes to scam books like this I'm tempted to deposit via credit card and take a shot, if I lose I simply claim a ********** to my **** card as an unauthorized purchase.

What would the point be of this? If you win they don't pay out...!!!

I'm owed £200 from August 2007 and i don't use Maltese governed books at all now thanks to the LGA, Betchance and Playbanks which owe me €400.

[citlec]

I still havent sign or returned my contract from them. I dont like the fact they want so much information off me for this contract. The information they want is enough to steal my idenity or open up bank accounts in my name.

They have sent me a email saying they havent received it and for me to send it to them as soon as possible.

I think if i took it to a lawyer i could have a good case in getting all my money back from them with the situation of them still trading.

[vanman]

I still havent sign or returned my contract from them. I dont like the fact they want so much information off me for this contract. The information they want is enough to steal my idenity or open up bank accounts in my name.

They have sent me a email saying they havent received it and for me to send it to them as soon as possible.

I think if i took it to a lawyer i could have a good case in getting all my money back from them with the situation of them still trading.

Depending on how much money they owe you then i would definately contact a lawyer and at least discuss things with them about initially sending betchance a letter stating that if they don`t pay in full in 30 days then you will have no choice but to take them to court.

[simmmy]

I wonder how many times they have heard that line. And i guess no-one that has threatened court action has actually gone that far.

[vanman]

They must be worried about being taken to court as that is the reason for the contracts,and more importantly losing and having to pay up.

[simmmy]

Thats a fair point, but after a year or so of ignoring emails and getting away with robbery and the LGA doing frig all to get customers their money back, they may think they are invisible and to be honest with you they are right, as no-one is doing anything about it, the LGA the EEC ( i guess someone at some point has contacted them) or even the Maltese goverment (i know people have contacted them but seem happy to allow this fraud to go on).

Stay away from Euro/Maltese bookies governed by the LGA.

[noyb]

Thanks Rogue. The LGA seemed to play a part in helping Portlandbet players

Portlandbet was regulated in Australia and had nothing to do with the LGA in Malta.

[mbo]

Still waiting for payment dating from 2007, despite signing a legal contract and being promised by Betchance that instalments would begin last July.

It's unbelievable that Betchance are continuing to trade.

My e-mails to Betchance have been ignored for months.
The LGA have never replied to my many complaints and requests for help. The Ministry of Finance to whom the LGA is allegedly answerable have failed to take any action in response to my complaints. The legal contract in which Betchance promises to pay is in no way being honoured.

As far as players are concerned, sportsbetting is a completely unregulated industry in Malta. Steer clear.

[bigboydan]

The players at Wauw Gaming are pretty much in the same boat as the Betchance ones, sir. It brutal to have to sit back and watch this unfold in this type of manor it has.

[GLopez]

Could the people who are still owed money by Betchance please contact me by PM? I might have something interesting for you, thanks.

[shantystar]

they are very much scam.

[betpartners]

I live here in Malta and almost every day there are newspaper articles about the LGA an dhow it needs to clean its act up etc, i think they are a little insulated from public opinion though.

Anyway Malta is in the EU and i am sure there are EU laws that have been broken, in addition my understanding is that Malta is on the UK white list, maybe instead of complaining to the ineffectual LGA a better road to travel would be to start complaining to the UK authorities.

Malta would soon lose its bookmaker clients if they were removed from teh white list, though not 100% of my facts on all this.

Finally not all Malta books are bad, Betfair are licensed here, so are betsson and expekt and they all seem to have good reputations.

Me personally the only Malta licensed sportsbook i am allowed to bet on is Betfair, but not betfair poker or casino, because i am resident in Malta.

Strange how Betfair allows me though

Overall though after reading some of the horror stories asscoaited with Malta licensees i suppose i should consider myself lucky that i cannot bet with them

They really do need to get their act together it seems

[Champi]

I live here in Malta and almost every day there are newspaper articles about the LGA an dhow it needs to clean its act up etc, i think they are a little insulated from public opinion though.

Anyway Malta is in the EU and i am sure there are EU laws that have been broken, in addition my understanding is that Malta is on the UK white list, maybe instead of complaining to the ineffectual LGA a better road to travel would be to start complaining to the UK authorities.

Malta would soon lose its bookmaker clients if they were removed from teh white list, though not 100% of my facts on all this.

Finally not all Malta books are bad, Betfair are licensed here, so are betsson and expekt and they all seem to have good reputations.

Me personally the only Malta licensed sportsbook i am allowed to bet on is Betfair, but not betfair poker or casino, because i am resident in Malta.

Strange how Betfair allows me though

Overall though after reading some of the horror stories asscoaited with Malta licensees i suppose i should consider myself lucky that i cannot bet with them

They really do need to get their act together it seems

Thx for the idea to complain in Uk
My country receive serious penalty from OLAF-European Anti Fraud Agency die to coruption, i will try and Soca.gov.uk.
This guys from WauwBet,BetChance,LGA and all other who think to cheat custoimers should receive fair punishment