1 September 2011

The growing Sports Alive stink.

| johnboy
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Making the Nut have a lengthy piece on the failings of the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission in regulating the failed ACT licensed gambling website Sports Alive which has disappeared with a lot of people’s money.

Sports Alive was licensed with the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission (GRC). Neither Sports Alive nor the GRC has contacted punters as to the whereabouts of their funds. Sports Alive have shut down their website and phonelines while the GRC are not replying to emails or phone calls. While I can understand that the Sports Alive owners are on their proverbial way to Brazil with suitcases of cash, I am disappointed with the actions of a supposedly reputable Government agency.

Punters are clearly in the dark as to the whereabouts of their funds. These are not just simple betting balances, they are akin to bank accounts, with customers required to provide 100 points of ID along with placing bets on recorded phonelines or encrypted Internet pages and even mobile devices. This is a highly sophisticated industry.

Well worth a read.

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milkman said :

No-one seems particularly sympathetic to shareholders of overseas banks that faile din the last few years. Why is this so different?

Because these people aren’t shareholders in the company, they had an account with them. It’s more like having a bank account with a failed bank or simply being owed money by a failed business and everyone feels sorry for people like that.

chewy14 said :

Little_Green_Bag said :

lies_a_minelli said :

Looks like my money has disappeared as well….not in the league of some, but enough money to make a hard working tax paying australian resident rather angry

i remember a while ago an ad that ran on sky, trying to stop aussies opening accounts overseas, claiming that winnings were ‘unenforceable’….i have accounts at a couple of overseas books, and neither have ever disappeared with my money

ACT a less safe place to store money than gibraltar for the average aussie punter, apparently…

Does anybody else find it incongruous to have gamblers complaining that they’ve lost their money? To quote an old bettor, you pay your money and you take your chances.

I think there’s a bit of a difference between a gambler losing his money betting and having a company collapse taking their money.
It’s a bit poor that GRC didn’t regulate this better so people didn’t get ripped off. If they can’t even do that, then what good are they?

No-one seems particularly sympathetic to shareholders of overseas banks that faile din the last few years. Why is this so different?

Little_Green_Bag said :

lies_a_minelli said :

Looks like my money has disappeared as well….not in the league of some, but enough money to make a hard working tax paying australian resident rather angry

i remember a while ago an ad that ran on sky, trying to stop aussies opening accounts overseas, claiming that winnings were ‘unenforceable’….i have accounts at a couple of overseas books, and neither have ever disappeared with my money

ACT a less safe place to store money than gibraltar for the average aussie punter, apparently…

Does anybody else find it incongruous to have gamblers complaining that they’ve lost their money? To quote an old bettor, you pay your money and you take your chances.

You’ve missed the point.

Little_Green_Bag said :

lies_a_minelli said :

Looks like my money has disappeared as well….not in the league of some, but enough money to make a hard working tax paying australian resident rather angry

i remember a while ago an ad that ran on sky, trying to stop aussies opening accounts overseas, claiming that winnings were ‘unenforceable’….i have accounts at a couple of overseas books, and neither have ever disappeared with my money

ACT a less safe place to store money than gibraltar for the average aussie punter, apparently…

Does anybody else find it incongruous to have gamblers complaining that they’ve lost their money? To quote an old bettor, you pay your money and you take your chances.

I think there’s a bit of a difference between a gambler losing his money betting and having a company collapse taking their money.
It’s a bit poor that GRC didn’t regulate this better so people didn’t get ripped off. If they can’t even do that, then what good are they?

Little_Green_Bag4:18 pm 02 Sep 11

lies_a_minelli said :

Looks like my money has disappeared as well….not in the league of some, but enough money to make a hard working tax paying australian resident rather angry

i remember a while ago an ad that ran on sky, trying to stop aussies opening accounts overseas, claiming that winnings were ‘unenforceable’….i have accounts at a couple of overseas books, and neither have ever disappeared with my money

ACT a less safe place to store money than gibraltar for the average aussie punter, apparently…

Does anybody else find it incongruous to have gamblers complaining that they’ve lost their money? To quote an old bettor, you pay your money and you take your chances.

lies_a_minelli11:49 am 02 Sep 11

Looks like my money has disappeared as well….not in the league of some, but enough money to make a hard working tax paying australian resident rather angry

i remember a while ago an ad that ran on sky, trying to stop aussies opening accounts overseas, claiming that winnings were ‘unenforceable’….i have accounts at a couple of overseas books, and neither have ever disappeared with my money

ACT a less safe place to store money than gibraltar for the average aussie punter, apparently…

Thoroughly Smashed4:56 pm 01 Sep 11

cross said :

Perhaps the GRC could explain exactly what their licencing fees and charges go to apart from keeping the commissioner and a raft of public servants in a job.

Incentive schemes?

Perhaps the GRC could explain exactly what their licencing fees and charges go to apart from keeping the commissioner and a raft of public servants in a job.

Oops is in todays Times

CT has done some stories on it.

I wonder why the Canberra Times has not run with this,surely worthy of front page

Die Lefty Scum2:05 pm 01 Sep 11

I’ve been reading some sad stories on the bigfooty forums about punters who have been left high + dry by this fraud. One guy was saying he had to cancel their yearly footy trip becuase their punters club funds of 10k or so had evaporated. Another guy I know is a pro punter who donates a considerable amount of his profits to charities he’s owed almost 40k. The ACT GRC seems to have failed miserably in their duties. Someone there needs to be held accountable for this.

I’m going to track down each an every one of the SA directors and personally deliver them a knuckle sandwich. Scum of the earth. I hope they go to hell where they can be with Justin Bieber and the mums from Toddlers & Tiaras.

If a bank ran off with 5 million worth of money it’d be front page news for days. But because the missing money was from betting accounts, public reaction is one of apathy.

Money is money.

Punters are people too!

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