BetBright outstanding ante-post bets, void
BetBright have ceased trading and declared all outstanding ante-post bets as void, which has angered many customers just days before the start of the Cheltenham Festival, the biggest betting event of the racing year. With many people placing bets on the major races several weeks and months before the meeting, in the hope of getting better odds, they have been left without their bets being valid.
Rich Ricci, BetBright’s former chairman, who will have a number of horses running at the Festival in his familiar pink colours, sold BetBright to the rival gambling firm, 888.com, for a reported £15m fee. However, it has become clear that while 888.com did buy the technology behind the BetBright website, the customer base and outstanding liabilities on bets had not been part of the deal.
BetBright posted an announcement on its website to say that it had “ceased offering gambling services to its customers on a permanent basis”, and advised clients that they had 30 days in which to withdraw any outstanding funds from their accounts.
A link to an ‘FAQ’ site also advised that “all single bets due to settle after 5 March at 23:59pm will be voided”, whilst unsettled multiple bets with a winning leg or legs will be settled “as a winning bet with the remaining unsettled legs voided”.
The move to void all ante-post bets not only affects stakes placed on the Cheltenham Festival, but also for other racing events, like the Grand National in April, and season-long bets on other sports including football.
BetBright had been a former sponsor of a major trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup at the course’s January meeting, and backed big races at Doncaster and Kempton Park too. They also sponsored the BetBright Cup at the Cheltenham Festival, which is based on the total number of winners trained in British and Irish stables.
The British Horseracing Authority declined to comment on the situation, but a spokesperson for the Gambling Commission, which regulates betting in the UK, said, “We have received a number of complaints about this matter and are making further enquiries.”
The Cheltenham Festival gets underway on Tuesday 12 March, finishing four days later on Gold Cup day, Friday 15 March.