Williamhill investigation

[winner9]

Thanks for waiting. I can now confirm here that we are still having investigation regarding the bet on Tennis match. Don't worry this has been forwarded already to our Management Team for further update. However, the investigation might take months and we cannot guarantee when this will settle.













Played by them a single tennis bet and now they say it.
I don't know how to handle the situation ...

[winner9]

Williamhill investigation

Hi dear SBR,

Today played on a tennis match by them because it was available just there.
The game ended, 4 hours went, contacted their livesupport and they told me that the game is under investigation and for now, nothing will be not made.
I couldn't get this answer and said them that they can void my bet too and return my money to my account, they refuse it too.
Filled complaint there too.

Hope someone can help me to solve this case.

Take care

[Optional]

Under their license they must report suspicious betting patterns on events and freeze all bets until told what they are allowed to do with them. The same can happen if other books report suspicious betting and William Hill are told to freeze the market.

We see this problem quite often, with tennis and UK licensed bookmakers in particular, and there is nothing you can do but wait.

The good news is that in most cases you will eventually be paid. The bad news is that it can take many months to be resolved.

If you want to make an official complaint about the process you can do this at https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/new/remote-gambling if outside the UK or https://www.ibas-uk.com/ if inside the UK

[winner9]

Thanks for your reply @Optional ,

Friend has case with Coral for 3 years and he waits still
It's why I am confused that they will do the same like Coral and i will even not see my money.
Wrote to IBAS but i am from Germany.
Is it problem?

[Optional]

I have not heard of 3 years before. But 1 year is not abnormal. Easy ones seem to resolve in a month or so but if it goes longer than that it's likely to be 9 months plus :\

Your friend might like to write to http://www.eu-ssa.org/ and try asking them if they can confirm anything about his Coral investigation. They may not help but I have seen them reply that there is definitely no investigation to a player once before.

And yes, IBAS will ignore you from Germany. Will have to use Gibraltar link above.

You can also try asking the EU Commission ODR service if there is any other option of appeal for Germans.

I'm just giving you all the options though. Realistically, you are going to be stuck waiting until the investigation is done.

[winner9]

And now my account is locked.

I can't withdraw some funds even from my account.

Guess, it will last forever.

[stackz125]

Wow what a shit book lol

[winner9]

Disappointed as well with their ,,terms" .
If you lose, you are great for them.

If you win for first time, you are investigated.
Strange.

[moojoo]

Could you be kind and tell us what match did you bet @what odds and amount you bet.

[winner9]

[moojoo]

I see. Dobt know what to say,to be fair i throw multiple times even bigger money on this level of tennis. There is 1 site actually investigating fixed matches and possible match fixing in tennis. Its tennis integrity or something like that. Ill check later and post here link to their site. Maybe you could sens them mail explaining what happened and ask them in they maybe investigate that match. If no you can ask them to do that. Ask them to reply to you if they think no need to investigate match because no clues.

[littlekona]

That is a bunch of BS as I looked and it is a official result 2-0 (6/3 6/3) plus the fact they where the odds on favorite to win.....What does this book do if a horse race is found fixed or a horse drugged? Go back and void winnings? Thats not right

[winner9]

We have received a feedback from our Traders and they advise us that market and event was deemed suspicious and will be investigated. The bet will remain unsettled and the account suspended until a decision has been rendered. We are unable to void your bet until investigation is done.

One of the worst answers which i received ever.

This is the job of your traders to suspect it and not to accept the bets, it's not my mistake that you have them at your bookie.

[£3.65]

Just because it's a 'brand name' does not mean they won't get up to anything shady. A lot of people who win off these books encounter a lot of difficulties.

[Optional]

We have received a feedback from our Traders and they advise us that market and event was deemed suspicious and will be investigated. The bet will remain unsettled and the account suspended until a decision has been rendered. We are unable to void your bet until investigation is done.

One of the worst answers which i received ever.

This is the job of your traders to suspect it and not to accept the bets, it's not my mistake that you have them at your bookie.

That is terrible.

They do not usually suspend the entire account awaiting investigation.

Did this happen after an argument with anyone there or just out of the blue?

They might think you are directly involved in match fixing or a syndicate runner for the bets.


Try Gibraltar and focus on the fact they have suspended your entire account as being unfair. They are more likely to take an interest than if you just complain about the tennis bet freeze.

[winner9]

Can you send the link where i can fill complaint @Optional ?

I checked but couldn't find it ...

Just out of the blue it happened and at morning I saw that they locked my account when i had money inside of it.

Don't know what I should do as next.

Take care

[Optional]

Can you send the link where i can fill complaint @Optional ?

I checked but couldn't find it ...

Just out of the blue it happened and at morning I saw that they locked my account when i had money inside of it.

Don't know what I should do as next.

Take care

https://www.sportsbookreview.com/sportsbook-complaint/

Email WillHill and ask whats up too to get started.

[winner9]

Wrong link I guess.

You posted SBR link, I submitted complaint there but it wasn't taken ...

[Optional]

Wrong link I guess.

You posted SBR link, I submitted complaint there but it wasn't taken ...

Link works for me. And you are the first ever to say the form doesnt work i know of.

Try this one without the secure server part in link.

http://www.sportsbookreview.com/sportsbook-complaint/

[winner9]

Mate, i filled complaint at SBR yesterday and today got reply :

Thanks for writing. Unfortunately for issues involving Will Hill you would have to contact The Gambling Commission directly.

Best regards,
Matt

It's why asking if it's wrong or not .

[Optional]

Mate, i filled complaint at SBR yesterday and today got reply :

Thanks for writing. Unfortunately for issues involving Will Hill you would have to contact The Gambling Commission directly.

Best regards,
Matt

It's why asking if it's wrong or not .

Oh I see.

That was the type of response I expected you might get really. And the reason I have just been trying to help you with options here rather than suggesting a complaint submission. Nothing we or WillHill can do about a suspicious match investigation. And if they have completely suspended your account, they won't talk to anyone but the regulator about why.

Gibraltar is you best option but they will have heard this hundreds of times before themselves so may not really be much help either. But try and get WillHill to tell you why they have done this if at all possible. Or when they might re enable you account for betting if they plan to.

I don't even think legal action would help really, so getting WillHill to choose to re-enable the account is by far your best bet.


Leave this until you know why they have closed the account and if they intend to keep it closed it or not, but William Hill have a complaint review team you can appeal to as well. You can email second_opinion@willhill.com <--- they will fix things when bad decisions have been made but make sure you have all the facts before contacting them as they tend to brush people off fast unless it's really clear you have a case.

[winner9]

I emailed second_opinion as well ...

Unfortunately as the game is under investigation, we are unable to remove the sanctions on your account or release any monies held on your balance.

Their answer is there.

So I will have to wait it seems.

Let's pray i get at least my main money .

[Optional]

I emailed second_opinion as well ...

Unfortunately as the game is under investigation, we are unable to remove the sanctions on your account or release any monies held on your balance.

Their answer is there.

So I will have to wait it seems.

Let's pray i get at least my main money .

Maybe try replying and asking why your entire account needs to be suspended for innocently getting caught up betting on a suspicious match. And request them to look into that and see if they can at least get the account back open.

Not very likely to work, but can't hurt to try. It is unusual and second_opinion will know that.

[lonnie55]

Quite a few issues in recent times for an A+ rated book

[MalikHusam]

If you win a blackjack hand at WillHill, can they investigate the dealer for being your double agent?

[semibluff]

I'm not surprised at people trying to bet on fixed matches. I am surprised people think they can bet a sizeable chuck of money on a fixed match with 1 of the big 3 UK books and not draw any attention.

[winner9]

Who said it's fixed ?

So i can blame it even after i lost a game that the odds were wrong.

And how can you know what amount i am betting on other games ?

Than why willlhill accepts 3000-4000eur on these kind of games?

If it loses, it's great for them but, right ?

I have other games as thatone which were lost and i didn't have problem

[lonnie55]

It's hard to find a bet history of this game (pre-market and in-play), maybe someone can post a link. Sorry but I'm not firm with Tennis betting at all.

[jayc88]

I think it’s reasonable to suspend the entire account during an ongoing investigation. Who bets 1500 Euro on an obscure tennis match , 99 % of all books do not even have available to bet. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t suspect you of being involved in match fixing , but you have to understand the books perspective and legal guidelines as well.

[moojoo]

How the heck he could know WHill would post that match on first place. I bet much more on low level of tennis.
If they decide its fix than it is,otherwise whill and other books scamming people. http://www.tennisintegrityunit.com

[winner9]

As said, I was betting also other games by willhill and also on tennis which have been lost till now.

After i won for first time by them, they said suspicious game.

And between Ionnie asked for odds movement there. When i took it, it was 1.83 and than Bojanovic made break, so symilar the odds have been dropped on them, so I didn't saw something suspicious.

[lonnie55]

I didn't saw something suspicious.

Well, a 1.5k bet on a small tourney with 15k prize money could be considered suspicious, that's for sure. However it doesn't have to mean anything. A bookmaker has to evaluate the whole market, not just one single bet from one single person. That's why I was asking for a betting history. It looks like the market was way to small for match fixing. Only idiots would fix such a match because already a small amount of money is enough to set off the alarm.

There is one thing about those "investigations" I can't figure out: Why don't Bookmakers ask the player for the reason why he placed the bet? In almost every case those investigations are one-sided. Bookmakers do not want to know from the player what's the case. It's just like "wait a year or a half until we let you know our decision".

When Vitalbet made their investigations on me/the match/the bets I placed or whatever they found suspicious, at first they didn't ask me anything. I sent them a huge email with a statement to explain why I placed those bets. Then they called me and asked a few more questions. I had to wait quite a long time though, but in the end I got my money.

I just don't understand why they hardly involve the relevant player into their investigations.

[Optional]

Well, a 1.5k bet on a small tourney with 15k prize money could be considered suspicious, that's for sure. However it doesn't have to mean anything. A bookmaker has to evaluate the whole market, not just one single bet from one single person. That's why I was asking for a betting history. It looks like the market was way to small for match fixing. Only idiots would fix such a match because already a small amount of money is enough to set off the alarm.

There is one thing about those "investigations" I can't figure out: Why don't Bookmakers ask the player for the reason why he placed the bet? In almost every case those investigations are one-sided. Bookmakers do not want to know from the player what's the case. It's just like "wait a year or a half until we let you know our decision".

When Vitalbet made their investigations on me/the match/the bets I placed or whatever they found suspicious, at first they didn't ask me anything. I sent them a huge email with a statement to explain why I placed those bets. Then they called me and asked a few more questions. I had to wait quite a long time though, but in the end I got my money.

I just don't understand why they hardly involve the relevant player into their investigations.

I think part of the reason for no questions is they do not want to be seen smearing the players names without an investigation.

Although obviously anti match fixing efforts are next to useless now so policies should be re-considered.

Maybe players would be less likely to fix if they saw their names mentioned as being investigated.

[lonnie55]

I think part of the reason for no questions is they do not want to be seen smearing the players names without an investigation.

Although obviously anti match fixing efforts are next to useless now so policies should be re-considered.

If it's an internal investigation there are no privacy concerns.

I guess in most of the cases those investigations are internal with no external party involved. You might remember my issues with Vitalbet. As I contacted EU-ESSA and the Estonian Football Association they both did not know anything about investigations or suspicious activities related to that match. If they are not involved in investigations who else is supposed to be?

Maybe players would be less likely to fix if they saw their names mentioned as being investigated.

You mean if the fixers have been finally convicted by a court? Yeah, maybe that would be a good prevention measure.

But please not when it's only a suspicion. Imagine all the shady bookies would have the right to publish the name of a player whenever they suspect him to be involved in match-fixing. Not a world I would like to live in.

[Optional]

^^^ If books, or anyone, asked players to justify why they made their bets on suspicious markets before an investigation that's pretty much what would be going on. People would be talking about it pre-investigation and players would be smeared.

I wasn't suggesting that was a good plan, just saying the current strategy seems to be doing almost nothing to curb the problem and leaves punters with problems like this that can go on for a long time, yet almost always result in the player being paid without explanation in the end.

I do not believe any of these cases of suspicious betting are investigated internally by the books. Well not the genuine licensed ones operating legitimately. Once they report the book is not supposed to do anything else until advised by one of the official bodies.


And yes, I mention what you achieved with Vitalbet and ESSA to other people regularly, as encouragement for them to try asking ESSA.