Ladbrokes could be forced to pay out on hundreds of bets which were turned down by its trading team if the Independent Betting Arbitration Service (IBAS) finds against the firm in three near-identical disputes over bets which are currently being considered by its adjudicators.
The three cases concern requests to place online bets which were referred to Ladbrokes’ traders for approval. An increasing number of punters on racing and other sports are familiar with this practice, and such bets are often either declined or re-offered, either at reduced odds or at a reduced stake that can be as little as 10 pence.
In the cases being considered by IBAS, the requested bets on horse races were declined. However, in each case, the customer attempting to place the bet claims to have received an official “bet number”, which they took as an indication that the bet had been accepted.
After the races, when it became clear their bets had in fact been declined, the punters claim they were described as “cancelled bets”, which suggests that their money could have been accepted at some point in the process.
The timescale involved when a case is considered by the arbitration service suggests Ladbrokes could, or should, have been aware of a possible problem with the processing of declined bets for several months, but the bookmaker has failed to address the issue. There is also anecdotal evidence that the cases currently being considered by IBAS may be the tip of the iceberg.
Paul Fairhead, who runs the BoycottBetFred Twitter account to assist punters with betting disputes, said on Wednesday that he had seen “at least a dozen identical cases involving Ladbrokes” and that he was receiving new claims almost on a daily basis. “That leads me to believe that hundreds of punters could have been affected over many months,” he said.
Should IBAS decide in favour of the punters bringing the cases against Ladbrokes, any customer of the firm who has had a similar experience when attempting to place a bet in recent months could also be entitled to claim a payout. Since bets which are referred to the trading team for approval can often involve significant sums, an adverse ruling could potentially cost the firm a significant amount.
IBAS is understood to have been considering the three cases for several weeks but there is little sign as yet that a final ruling is imminent. Ladbrokes did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment on Wednesday.
The latest concern regarding possible software flaws at Ladbrokes follows the embarrassment suffered by its Australian arm on Tuesday, when the ladbrokes.com.au website crashed in the run-up to the Melbourne Cup, the country’s most famous horse race.
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