Having read the preview article in the Racing Post,
analysing the Eastbourne tennis match between Ward and Lopez, I decided to
follow the RP advice to back the match to go to three sets. Sportingbet were
offering 5/2 so I had the maximum stake I was permitted at the price (£20)
before placing the balance of my bet with William Hill at odds of 12/5. The Sportingbet wager was placed on 15/6/10 at 08:28 and the
William Hill bet a couple of minutes later.
The match took place that afternoon with Lopez retiring
when the score was 6-3 5-4 against him. I knew immediately my bets should be
settled as void as two sets had not been completed. William Hill had settled by
the end of the day and duly credited my account.
Sportingbet however settled my bet as a loser. This action
provoked email correspondence with the company in which they tried to
convince me that my bet was a loser. The content of these emails is reproduced below:
17 June 2010 Sportingbet to MQ
Reference
number: XXX
Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: no subject
Dear
Customer,
Thank
you for contacting us.
I can
confirm that this bet has been settled correctly, you backed 3 sets to be
played in the match and there were only 2 completed.
Please
feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Kelly
17 June 2010 MQ to Sportingbet
Two sets were not
completed, that is my point. See the attached link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8742616.stm
Lopez
retired when losing at 6-3 5-4. I had exactly the same bet with William Hill
who have the same rules as your company and they, correctly, declared the
market void.
Mike
Quigley
19 June 2010 Sportingbet to MQ
Reference
number: XXX
Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: no subject
Dear
Customer,
Thank
you for contacting us.
I can
confirm that your query has been forwarded to the Traders Department.
We will
contact you once they get back to us.
Please
feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
22 June MQ to Sportingbet
What is the outcome of my query
please? It is quite straightforward because only one set was completed.
Therefore the bet should be void according to your (and other bookmakers’)
rules.
Mike
Quigley
22 June Sportingbet to MQ
Reference
number: XXX
Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: no subject
Dear
Customer,
Thank
you for contacting us. Regarding
your query, were (sic) still awaiting the traders to confirm there (sic) decision on
this bet.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional
questions.
Sincerely,
Barry
25 June MQ to Sportingbet
When are you going to deal with this? The bet was placed
ten days ago and is very straightforward.
The second set was not completed so
the bet is void. Poor customer service.
Mike
Quigley
25 June Sportingbet to MQ
Reference
number: XXX
Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: no subject
Dear
Michael,
Thank
you for contacting us. Sorry about the delay.
Unfortunately the in-play bets
for these markets stand, so the bet is indeed settled correctly.
Please
feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Shyam
25
June MQ to Sportingbet
The bet was NOT placed inplay. It was placed at 08:28 BST,
a time at which professional tennis matches are not played in this
country.
Please
settle the bet correctly according to your rules below:-
"Abandoned
Matches/Retirements
If a
match is abandoned or a player
retires, all bets will be void, unless
the bet has already reached its natural conclusion. Bets on Match Prices will
stand if one set has been completed, otherwise these bets will be void."
Two sets were not
completed therefore as the bet was on the number of sets in the match the bet
is void. See the attached link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/8742616.stm
Lopez
retired when losing at 6-3 5-4.
I had exactly the same bet with William Hill who have the same rules as your
company and they, correctly, declared the market void.
Mike
Quigley
25 June Sportingbet to MQ
Reference number: XXX Please use this
ticket number in any correspondence with us.
Subject: Betting settlement
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting
us. We have just got a replay from our trading department stating the answer as
follows:
" The
market was framed around the number of sets played, and 2 sets were played,
hence bet stands:
Abandoned
Matches/Retirements
If
a match is abandoned or a player retires, all bets will be void, unless the bet
has already reached its natural conclusion. 2 sets were played."
We
apologise for any inconvenience. Many thanks.
Please
feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Rita
25
June MQ to Sportingbet
As I
keep telling you two sets WERE
NOT COMPLETED. Lopez retired at 5-4 down in
the second set. I am so incensed that you cannot deal with this. The sum of
money involved is only £20 however I will be calling IBAS tomorrow to get the
appropriate paperwork to make a claim for my money to be refunded unless you
settle this bet correctly today. Incidentally why did you say it was an in-play market in
your previous e-mail when clearly at 08:30am it could not have been? IBAS will
love that.
Mike Quigley
26 June Sportingbet to MQ
Reference number:
XXX Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with
us.
Subject: no subject
Dear
Customer,
Thank
you for contacting us. I am very sorry but only 1 set needs to be completed for
the result to be final if a player retires.
Please feel free to contact us if
you have any additional questions.
Sincerely,
Ronan
26
June MQ to Sportingbet
That
is true for match result bets but NOT for set betting or betting on the number
of sets. Email me a copy of the relevant rule if you think I am wrong.
Mike Quigley
26 June (2) MQ to Sportingbet
I'll save you time,
this is your rule which applies:
Abandoned
Matches/Retirements
If a match is abandoned or a player retires, all bets will be
void, unless the bet has already reached its natural conclusion.
Bets on Match
Prices will stand if one set has been completed, otherwise these bets will be
void.
So the bet is void because: -
a. The bet has not reached its natural conclusion (the second
set was not completed)
b. The bet was not a match bet and therefore the one set rule
does not apply.
Mike Quigley
Having had enough of this charade I sent the details of
the disputed bet to IBAS and awaited their decision.
On 29 August I received their
ruling and a copy of their judgement is attached.
Having won the case I sent the following email to
Sportingbet:
3 September MQ to Sportingbet
Sirs,
No doubt you will have received a communication from IBAS
(dispute ref no. 0024142) on the subject of my bet placed with you on the
number of sets played in a tennis match in June. You will note that IBAS
has ruled in my favour (as I told you they would) and I look forward to
receiving my £20 refund as the proceeds of you now correctly voiding the bet.
Yours in sport
Mike Quigley
3 September Sportingbet to MQ
Dear Michael,
Thank you for contacting us.
Regarding your query of Bet ID XXX we have applied
to your account the £20 as advised by IBAS ruling. We
appreciate your patience and cooperation! Many thanks!
Please feel free to contact us if you have any
additional questions.
Sincerely,
Rita
On
Saturday 4 September I attempted to log into my account to check the credit had
been applied. I could not do so and was greeted with a message to contact
customer services. This I did by using the online chat facility. I explained my
predicament and after a short delay the operator told me that a “management
decision” had been made to close my account. No further explanation was
offered. I asked about the funds in the account and was told this would be sent
to me.
I sent
this email to Sportingbet on the following Monday:
6
September MQ to Sportingbet
When I attempted to log into my account on Saturday I was
informed that there were technical issues as to why I was unable to log in. On
contacting customer service I was informed that my account had been closed and
no further explanation was offered.
If you have closed my account I wish to know the
reasons why and also why I was not informed that you were taking this action.
Further if the account is closed what is the situation with
the funds I have on account? In addition I hold a number of ante post bets with
you.
What is the situation with these bets, do they
stand? If they stand then I will require copies, as I have no access to monitor
them because of your draconian action.
Mike Quigley
I received no response to the above email. Miraculously when I
attempted to log in the next day I was successful.
However since discovering that the account remains "open" I have tried to place a number of bets and I am constantly greeted with the message "stake too high". This even occurs when the stake is reduced right down to, say, £1.00 each way, so for all practical purposes the account has effectively been closed.
You can draw your own conclusions on the conduct of this company.
However in terms of credibility and integrity, I think it's by far the worst online betting company with which I have conducted business and for that reason I would encourage all punters not to trade with them.
Mike
Quigley
Updated 27 October 2010
