Racing:Betfair have agreed to make ex gratia payments to a number of their customers that were affected by a technical error on the company's website during a race at Leopardstown on December 28th.
The online betting exchange had originally voided all “in-play” bets on the race after an investigation found that a technical error had seen the winning horse, Voler La Vedette, matched at 29 to 1 when the betting market was suspended.
During the race, one bet was placed, laying Voler La Vedette for £21,474,836 at odds of 29, leaving a customer with a maximum liability of close to £600m.
Following further investigations, Betfair say that “in the interests of fairness” that certain categories of the voided bets will now receive ex gratia payments.
According to a company statement released this afternoon, the categories of bets that will be compensated are:
1. In-play winning positions in both the ‘win’ and the ‘to be placed’ markets which were achieved before the technology failure;
and
2. In-play winning positions in the ‘to be placed’ market achieved at any time through to the completion of the race.
Bets matched in the ‘win’ market after the technology failure will remain void.