GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 44 - July 2019

WALL OF SHAME When asked why his firm didn’t set aside money to cover potential outstanding liabil- ities, Ricci said it had “other creditors that needed to be treated in an equitable way and we needed to find the right balance.” Easy for “Richie Rich” to say, considering he’s worth a reported £100 million! “We thought about offering ‘cash-out’ [on bets where the odds had shortened signifi- cantly], but it could not be offered on those markets under our T&Cs,” he continued. “I’m empathetic with some of the anger, but there are other sides to this story and it was an unusual transaction. We dealt with it in a way we thought best.” Really? Well, we’re guessing the £15 mil- lion Richie put in his pocket on the sale helped him with his “empathy,” right? Adding to the stupidity level of this story, the U.K. Gambling Commission also acted as if it misplaced its balls, saying that BetBright’s actions of voiding all those bets was the “best option.” As if this all wasn’t bizarre enough, here comes the real kicker: With controversy swirling and lawsuits be- ing threatened, 888 announced on Twitter that it was going to step up and honor at least some of those bets that were voided. “As gesture of goodwill, 888sport will pay winning Cheltenham bets previously accepted by Dedsert (BetBright). Re- grettably we cannot take on all other ante post bets from another company. Dedsert Ltd is refunding all funds to BetBright punters.” So there you have it. Congratulations to “Richie Rich” and the U.K. Gambling Commission. Because when your actions make 888 look like the good guys, well, you know you’ve stepped in one big pile of shit. Welcome to the club, Richie! Back in the spring, just days before the start of the Cheltenham Festival, it was announced that BetBright had been sold to 888 Holdings for a “meager” £15 million. Now, in and of itself, this was not earth-shattering news. But then there was a ripple effect where the company used the sale to void the pending wa- gers of many of the company’s 35,000 customers, including the bets on the Cheltenham Festival and the thou- sands and thousands of season-long football bets. All of them. Wiped out like they never happened. The former executive chairman of BetBright, Rich Ricci (yes, that’s his real name), said that he could not have handled the situation “any better” and that he under- stands why some of his customers were “upset.” “It was a very unusual transaction, and I can’t remember one like it,” Ricci, who is not-so-ironically a leading National Hunt horse rac- ing owner, told the Guardian . “We’re left with a situation which isn’t ideal, where the company doesn’t have the engine to carry on and trade and needs to be wound up in an orderly way. We talked about it a lot and decided this would be the most equitable thing to do for most people.” Rich Ricci Former Executive Chairman of Rich Ricci (far right) said he was “empathetic” to angry players. G P W A t i m e s . o r g 72