Ladbrokes awaiting arbitration judgement on declined bets
Bookmaker braces itself for hundreds of claims if landmark case is upheld
Ladbrokes is currently being investigated by the Independent Betting Arbitration Service (IBAS) in relation to three complaints made by punters over declined or cancelled bets.
The complaints centre around online bets on horseracing which were requested and then referred to Ladbrokes traders for approval.
All three bets were subsequently cancelled by Ladbrokes. However, in each case the complainant received an official Ladbrokes bet number from Ladbrokes internal betting system, indicating that their bets had indeed been accepted.
If upheld, this could lead to hundreds of similarly cancelled bets being examined by IBAS, potentially costing Ladbrokes millions.
Last week Ladbrokes was forced to pay a similarly cancelled bet back to bettor Paul Glynn after he threatened legal action against the bookmaker.
In July, Glynn attempted to place two singles bets and a double via Ladbrokes on races at Sandown and Haydock five days later. He received a receipt number for each bet and his £330 total stake left his account. One of the single bets, which was a £150 bet on Horseplay at 7/1 later won, entitling Glynn to £1,200.
However, upon a further check of his account, Glynn found that all three bets had been cancelled and the stake recredited to his account. Ladbrokes initially denied any wrongdoing but later paid out on the bet following receipt of a notice of legal action.
No comment has been made by Ladbrokes since details of the complaints went public.