Betfair, the world’s biggest online sports betting company, pioneered the first successful betting exchange in 2000. Since then the company has won two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and twice been named ‘Company of the Year’ by the Confederation of British Industry. It presently has three million registered customers and processes over six million transactions daily. Britain’s Horserace Betting Levy Board (HBLB) yesterday launched a consultation on whether some users of betting exchanges should make Levy contributions.

Betfair’s Legal Director, Martin Cruddace, said: “We’re very surprised by the Levy Board’s announcement. This issue of whether betting exchange customers are acting as bookmakers has been the subject of debate since Betfair started. After a thorough, independent review of this very issue throughout 2004 and 2005, which took into account full representation from all stakeholders and other Government departments, the Treasury came to the conclusion that the treatment of betting exchanges and their customers was fair. Since then, there has not been one scrap of evidence produced by anyone to suggest the situation has changed.”

Cruddace added, “We are extremely interested to see if the Levy Board is able to run a fair and impartial consultation process bearing in mind that several of their directors have publicly stated positions that would seem to prejudge any outcome. We are also surprised that any consultation that singles out the customers of one class of operator could be considered fair or lawful where no such distinction is made in any part of the relevant legislation.”

In 2009 Betfair paid a total of £7.5 million to the HBLB, £1 million of which was a voluntary contribution to support British racing. In addition to the company’s existing commitments, this year over £1 million will be redirected away from the Levy Board and into a range of initiatives within British racing. Already Betfair is studying ways to invest the money creatively and says it will be announcing shortly some of the first investments it will make.

“Today’s announcement by the Levy Board, together with the statement from Nic Coward of the BHA, illustrates exactly why we have redirected our voluntary levy payment. We have not withdrawn this money from British Racing; we have withdrawn our donation to the Levy Board and BHA. We want to make sure that it is spent to deliver real benefits to the sport rather than being diluted by middlemen and the accompanying costs that cover their salaries, pensions contributions and the substantial legal bills incurred in a sustained and discriminatory attack on our business.” (E-07.07.10)

© Copyright 2010 CasinoCompendium



>>> return to archives
>>> return to frontpage