Sporting Options was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
betting exchange
A betting exchange is a marketplace for customers to bet on the outcome of discrete events. Betting exchanges offer the same opportunities to bet as a bookmaker with a few differences. Gamblers can buy (also known as "back") and sell (also known ...
, based in
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
. The company was founded in 2000 by former
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
options
Option or Options may refer to:
Computing
*Option key, a key on Apple computer keyboards
*Option type, a polymorphic data type in programming languages
* Command-line option, an optional parameter to a command
*OPTIONS, an HTTP request method
...
traders Robert Byrne and Kevin Griffiths. Sporting Options went into
administration
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...
on 15 November 2004 amid allegations of
criminal
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
wrongdoing. Industry leader
Betfair
Betfair is a British Gambling, gambling company which operates the world's largest online betting exchange. Its product offering also includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Founded in 2000, the business is split ...
stepped in with a rescue package.
Cause of collapse
Sporting Options appeared to be matching bets worth up to 15% of those matched at Betfair. But it was alleged the turnover was being financed by the owners of Sporting Options using their own funds to create the liquidity.
By late 2004, it was alleged Sporting Options was in fact
fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
ulently financing its apparent liquidity by using funds from its own clients' account. On 15 November 2004 administrators were called in. By 8 December the administrators had determined that the company owed
£3.6 million to its clients, but held only minimal funds in the clients' account.
Betfair rescue package
Soon after Sporting Options went into administration, Betfair announced a rescue package to compensate the 5,342 Sporting Options clients who had lost money. The clients affected were required to register as customers of Betfair to be eligible. Each qualifying client owed less than £1,000 was compensated for the full amount owing (in the form of a credit to his or her Betfair account). Those owed more than £1,000 received either £1,000 or 20 per cent of their Sporting Options account balance, whichever was greater. Any amount owing over and above this payout could be earned back though a commission rebate program, valid through to 30 November 2006.
Some speculated {{Who, date=February 2010 that Betfair's apparent act of generosity was a bid to protect the reputation of the betting exchange industry, while simultaneously securing exclusive access to Sporting Options' clients. Betfair and most other exchanges have stressed their clients' funds are ring-fenced to ensure the exchanges' financial integrity.
References
Silicon.com - WebWatch, November 16, 2004: Betfair to bail out Sporting Options punters - Rescue package launched after firm goes to the wallBBC news, 15 June, 2003 The gamble that paid offThe Register, April 5, 2004: Extortionists take out UK gambling site BBC News, 16 June, 2003, Internet betting cleans up its actDaily Telegraph, 17 November 2004: Punters face bet exchange 'black hole'. By James MooreDaily Telegraph, 18 November 2004: Betting exchange owed some punters £100,000. By James MooreDaily Telegraph, 19 November 2004: Sporting Options founder ends up biggest creditor. By James Moore
External links
Android Betting Apps
Betting exchanges
Defunct companies of England
Gambling companies established in 2000
Internet properties established in 2000
Companies disestablished in 2004
Companies based in Sussex
2000 establishments in England