A Visit to the Vault Betfair's infamous "unlimited happy hour bonus" - 2010

[maxd]

Ok, for our first "Visit to the Vault" I bring you this outrageous entry from the Casinomeister Awards, 2010:

Worst Blundering Screwup 2010​

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Betfair. How is it possible that one of the largest betting powerhouses screws up a promotion so badly that it resorts to rogue “screw the player” tactics. It boggles one’s mind.​

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They ran a promo on Saturday 13 November which offered an unlimited happy hour bonus with only 10x playthrough. When they realized how much they were losing, they changed the playthrough amount to 20x and began locking accounts and confiscating winnings.​

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Even though players had risked their own funds and met the posted wagering requirements, they were given the “speak to the hand” treatment and were told that they had not played in the “Spirit of the Bonus.”​

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Enforcing a “spirit of the bonus” clause is something that a rogue Costa Rican clip shot joint would have pulled years ago. Most rogue casinos wouldn’t even try to pull a stunt like this now. But it seems that Betfair didn’t have a problem with this. Obviously, the entire casino management staff snored itself through all sessions of “Online Casino Management 101”. There is no evidence that any one of them received a passing grade.​

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Betfair’s public relations manager contacted me and assured me that any players submitting complaints via Casinomeister would be handled in a fair manner. Well, they weren’t. Each complaint was met with a “form-letter” response – and then Betfair stopped responding. It seems as though they are treating this as dirt swept under the rug. Out of sight – out of mind, and it’s business as usual at Betfair.​

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I would have expected much more from a distinguished company like Betfair. Instead of dealing with this problem in a professional and clued-up manner, they blame the players of taking advantage of them.​

A small editorial comment to go with the above: Betfair's actions here pretty much set the tone for their treatment of player issues ever since, "Talk To The Hand" specialists just because it suits them.

 

[jasonuk]

It was slightly before my time, but not only was it 10x, it was stackable with chunky deposit limits, and various table games counted at 100% weighting (meaning potentially 90%+ profit per bonus)

Some thread links for this one...

• The original news (2010) - including a certain video explanation - including chargebacks, negative balances and various cross-license shadiness (as vinyl said at the time, "Betfair are VERY keen to bury this in Malta" rather than the UK) - Betfair Bonus Fiasco - Casinomeister Forum
• Aside: The horse race where an exchange account managed to place a stray £600m lay bet (2011) - Betfair in the news again, and not in a good way. - Casinomeister Forum
• The attempt to escape the rogue pit in 2012 (and barely one month later, caught manipulating promotions again) - Betfair issues (was On Probation) - Casinomeister Forum
• Betfair really doesn't want their day in court, so those applying legal pressure got a result (2013) - Betfair "Happy Hour" promo - possible solution for UK players - Casinomeister Forum

Sadly, a lot of players were forced to give up - and either lost their winnings, or lost some of their deposits as well.

Despite being an operator in multiple regulated markets, it was a warning sign of what was to come - both for Betfair and the wider industry.

Amazingly, Paddy Power Betfair continued to make pretty sizeable blunders with their promotions and loyalty... I can remember:

• 102% baccarat and blackjack that ran for a few months,
• bingo and live casino promotions that were ghost towns where they must have regularly lost thousands per promotion,
• a "random" jackpot that dropped at the same time every day for roughly 3 months,
• ... and naturally I've heard a few stories that are so ridiculous that they may have to wait a few more years to tell the tale...

 

[dunover]

And no mention of the fact they even tried to raid the bank accounts of those alrady paid out?

 

[jasonuk]

That's why I wanted to drag the threads up - the story is much more horrifying...

They were locking accounts without warning (so players who had open exchange bets were left exposed), they were confiscating "winnings" that often exceeded the amount won (leaving some customers with negative balances - itself an unauthorised credit facility), they abused payment mechanics to recall payments from e-wallets and bank accounts, and even transferred funds across licenses without player intervention.

And given the number of cases that were settled out of court, they clearly didn't have a leg to stand on either! Classic bullying tactics... or headless chickens trying to find any lever - whether legal or not - to pull to undo their £10m+ mistake!

 

[maxd]

And no mention of the fact they even tried to raid the bank accounts of those alrady paid out?

Excellent point, I'd forgotten that bit. What a bunch! Balls of brass. Surprised they weren't rolling grannies for their benefits money.