Just weeks after one front-line bookmaker, Betbright, ceased trading and defaulted on the majority of its ante-post bets, another has followed suit.
We were warned that bookmakers faced an uncertain future following the decision to greatly reduce the stakes on FOBTs but that ruling was only supposed to impact on layers who actually have shops on the high street. Betbright didn’t fall into that category and neither does 188bet, another so-called betting firm that won’t honour its obligations beyond the end of June even though the company remains solvent and has admitted that it is only discontinuing its operations in the British Isles because competition has become too tough.
Funnily enough, 188bet.co.uk has only stopped taking bets in United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar – operations in other countries, particularly in Asia, will continue. I’m not sure if this is even legal but no doubt their money men have been emboldened by the complete inability, or will, of the Gambling Commission to hold Betbright’s owners to account.
A very bad precedent has been set and you can just imagine other bookmakers, who trade in the UK and whose profit margins are close to the knuckle, will be thinking they could do worse than just shutting up shop or consolidating their assets in younger, emerging markets.
188bet sponsored reigning Flat jockey champion Silvestre De Sousa and big races like the Chester Cup and both will be looking for a new source of funding. But the main issue is that the trust between bookmakers and bettors, discussed only recently, has again taken a hammer blow and analysts are beginning to wonder – who is next? It is all very well having multiple choices over who to bet with but the industry must have proper regulation to stop punters being exploited and it doesn’t appear that the Gambling Commission has the power to provide that. If that is the case, maybe the licensing authorities should be delving deeper into the background of those who advertise their odds.
