The latest report from The Racing Post with the pending bets info in bold ...
Online woe: Bookmaker Firststake collapses, but rescue plan saves punters
By: Tony Smurthwaite
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internet bookmaker firststake.com collapsed yesterday owing punters more than ?217,000?then announced that a rival online bookmaker would honour account balances.
After two days of mounting frustration for its clients, a statement was issued confirming financial difficulties had forced parent company Firststake plc into administrative receivership.
Yet confusion was spreading last night when it emerged that First UK Racing?a fellow subsidiary of Bristol-based Firststake plc?carried on trading normally with 12 betting shops.
In a statement, Firststake said: ?Dear customer, we are sorry to inform you that owing to financial difficulties the firststake.com website is no longer active and your account with us is now closed.
?We are, however, extremely pleased to inform you that we have negotiated an exclusive deal with sportingbet.com (UK) plc, who are willing to honour your funds on deposit.?
The surprise development, welcomed by punters, was confirmed by Mark Blandford, founder of offshore firm sportingbet.com as he spoke of a no-cash agreement with Firststake brokered on Tuesday.
?Credit to the Racing Post here,? said Blandford. ?It was when I read of Firststake?s problems in the paper on Tuesday that I phoned them and started the process of seeing if anything could be done to resuscitate the business.
?It looked fairly terminal and the obvious thing, it seemed to me, as we couldn?t get contractually involved because of the liquidation, was to take on the customer balances.?
Any optimism for Firststake?s 5,000 account holders rests on their deposit money now looking safe. However, it was tempered by news that Sportingbet would not take over ante-post bets because of a ?contractual legal minefield?, according to Blandford.
This latter news was notwell received last night by punters holding ante-post vouchers, whose fate now looks in the hands of receivers Kingston Smith & Partners of London.
After a day of non-stop phone calls and e-mails to the Racing Post from worried punters, Firststake?s statement made no reference as to whether ante-post bets may be honoured by the betting-shop arm.
One punter, who stands to collect ?3,500 in ante-post bets if Manchester City are relegated and Chesterfield win Division Three, said last night: ?It?s disgraceful that ante-post bets will not also be honoured by Sportingbet.
?When a big bookmaker buys a small bookmaker, all ante-post bets are passed over.?
It is believed that cash shortages sparked the Firststake collapse, with the plug pulled when chairman Karim Ghaidan and managing director Simon Grieve realised trading liabilities could not be met.
The first proper signs that the OFEX-quoted business was sinking came on Tuesday when service providers were told the firm was in trouble. Then, on Wednesday,the website could not be accessed.
Following the collapse last month of betachance.com, the demise of the larger and more-established firststake.com site will come as a blow to the internet betting industry.
Blandford said: ?The UK regulatory model hasutterly failed.?
He added: ?We are the most heavily regulated bookmaker in the world. The Alderney Gaming Commission would not allow us to trade unless we had cash funds to meet customer liabilities in the ratio of 1.25:1, or ?1.25m in cash for every ?1m in customer accounts.?
He concluded: ?We are offering firststake.com customers a no-loss, risk-free solution despite the fact that the firm is no longer trading.?
Last night Sportingbet?s shares, recently launched on the AIM market, closed up 18p at 135.5p.
Step by step guide for worried punters
PUNTERS should log on to the
www.sportingbet.com website and register as a new account holder.
The next step is to contact sportingbet?s customer services department on freefone 0800 825030, 01481 825030, or via admin@sportingbet.com.
Punters should have to hand their firststake.com username and new sportingbet.com account details. The previous deposit balance at firststake.com will then be transferred to sportingbet.com.
Those wishing to withdraw funds will only be able to do so after placing a minimum bet of ?20 on their new sportingbet account. Withdrawal requests will only be available after February 19.
