SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Betting adjudication services provider IBAS has revealed that April was its ‘second busiest month ever’, as punters used its alternative dispute services to make claims on historic wagers.
A busy IBAS detailed that it had received significant requests from punters seeking information on how bookmakers should settle ‘season-long football bets’ following the abrupt postponement of 2020’s sports calendar.
Acknowledging unique complexities as governing bodies take different approaches to concluding league proceedings, IBAS advises bookmakers to ‘to find the rule or term that was already in place that best fits these unprecedented circumstances’.
With regards to settling season bets, IBAS stressed that it is not going to pass judgement on whether leagues or governing bodies have reached a fair decision.
“What matters to us is whether bets are settled fairly, consistently and sensibly, using pre-existing applicable rules or common sense if no applicable rules existed,” it said in a statement.
Providing the industry’s leading betting adjudication service, IBAS provides the following guidance to betting punters who are holding season-long bets and who may use its services.
- Punters should review the bookmaker rules which govern the ‘settlement of a bet‘ and the rules that were in place ‘when the bet was struck‘
- Should a bookmaker fail to have rules to deal with the specific situation, IBAS will consider whether settlement decisions appear fair in the context of each league’s official decision and other terms the bookmaker holds that might be applicable to solving the dispute
- Any decisions made about the fairness of bet settlement will concern the company’s overall settlement of markets
- IBAS does not adjudicate on decisions made by football leagues or governing bodies. Its dispute services don’t judge whether it is ‘right or fair’ to cancel a league or to complete under alternative arrangements – “What matters to us is how each bookmaker has responded to those official decisions”
- Players must be patient using IBAS services once all compliant processes have been exhausted. IBAS adjudicates on disputes which arose anytime within the previous 12 months
The IBAS statement added: “Whatever decisions are taken will almost inevitably disappoint some people holding season-long bets involving these leagues. When decisions have been made and are confirmed, we are likely to face a sharp spike in the number of calls and emails when IBAS and most bookmaker customer service departments are dealing with reduced capacity and untypical working arrangements.”
