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Voler la Vedette (file photo). ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Betfair Row

Betfair to compensate some customers for Leopardstown fiasco

The exchange says it will make payments to some customers affected by its decision to void in-running bets on the woodiesdiy.com Christmas Hurdle.

BETFAIR WILL PAY out to some punters affected by the in-running computer glitch that led to the voiding of bets on the woodiesdiy.com Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown last month.

The gambling exchange said today that it will compensate certain categories of customer following a meeting with its regulator, the Gibraltar Gambling Commission (GGC), to discuss the fallout from the fiasco.

Over €1.9m was successfully matched when an “obvious technical fault” allowed quick-acting punters to back race winner Voler la Vedette at in-running odds of 28/1.

The market was frozen and ultimately voided by Betfair after technicians discovered a glitch which had apparently allowed one customer to exceed their exposure limit to the tune of €700m.

The decision left hundreds of furious customers out of pocket and contemplating legal action, while the exchange’s share price plummeted by 6% immediately after the fiasco.

Today, Betfair announced that it will make ex gratia payments to accounts which held in-play winning positions in the win and place markets prior to the technical fault, as well as all in-play winning positions achieved in the place market before the completion of the race.

The accounts in question will be credited today.

“This compensation complies with, and goes beyond, the GGC’s recommendations,” Betfair said in a statement released this evening.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and the GGC for their feedback in helping us to achieve what we believe to be a fair conclusion to this unprecedented incident.

We remain committed to providing our customers with the best betting proposition possible.

– Additional reporting: Adrian Russell

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