Aussie Punters Fleece bookies

[dave nz]

SHATTERED Adelaide Bookmaker Curly Seal yesterday revealed he lost a massive $600,000 in the Gold Coast greyhound sting believed to have been masterminded by a big Sydney punter.

As the fallout continued yesterday from Australia's biggest plunge on a greyhound, Bookmakers yesterday learned the full extent of the sting - a cool $1million was ripped from off-course Bookmakers in a matter of minutes.
But it was Seal - a colourful and well-liked bookie - who took the brunt of the punters' attack.

"If you said (I lost) $600,000 that wouldn't be far off the mark," said Seal.

"The most I lost was on an Epsom in Sydney one year. But that was a big-betting race and it didn't hurt because I gambled and lost.

"That was legitimate. It wasn't anything like Tuesday - that was a total debacle. I've been stung before but not like that, never on a dog whose price wasn't correct."

The big punters sensationally manipulated the Queensland UNiTAB pool by putting $16,000 on each of the five opposing dogs to beat the hot favourite Lucy's Light in race two at the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

Lucy's Light had opened at $1.10 but started at the outrageous odds of $13 - shortly after the punters had got on for $75,000 in collective bets with corporate bookmakers around the country.

When star stayer Lucy's Light greeted the judge, winning by seven lengths, bookies were left red-faced and the big punters were rejoicing.

The punters targeted a race with a small pool and a standout performer, knowing they could alter the win pool without risking too much money.

As the Queensland Greyhound Racing Control Board launched an investigation into the plunge yesterday:


The money trail pointed to a Sydney mastermind because it was from here that the biggest bets were laid.

While the names of the punters remained a highly guarded secret (protocol in the punting business) The Daily Telegraph learned that two of the biggest punters were based in Sydney and Adelaide. Sources said three or four punters were involved.

The NSW TAB called for corporate bookmakers to be banned from using TAB totaliser dividends - fearing similar copycat incidents.

There were reports last night that a similar sting on a smaller scale was carried out on the place pool at Penrith trots several weeks ago.
Bookmakers agreed yesterday they had little option but to pay the punters a Christmas motza.

But Seal was last night seeking advice from the stewards and the South Australian racing authorities over his options. He revealed he had received two bets, one from Sydney and another locally.

Michael Sullivan, of Sportingbet, said he was grateful his agency had only dropped $8800. "We have sophisticated computer systems in place to prevent such a thing happening," Sullivan said.

"If a dog is paying $1.30 in one state, $1.40 in another and then $13, you don't have to be a bookie for too long to work out what's going on.

"But I don't see anything wrong with it. If any punter can get an edge, good luck to them. It's our job to negate that."

Christian Sawyer, of Centreracing, paid out $7200 after "receiving a bet from NSW".

"That's not too bad a result considering we lose a lot more on races around the country each week," Sawyer said.

"It's not good what happened, but it's one of those things that can happen when you're offering tote prices. If the dog had lost, nobody would be complaining."

Sportsbet's Matthew Tripp and Alex Kay, licensee of Beyezy, both paid out $26,000. "My theory is it's fair game and good luck to them, they're going to have a nice Christmas," Tripp said.

"We took a bet of $2000, but it was a bit like a casino and having a card counter - there's not much you can do when things like this happen," Kay said.

NSW TAB chief executive Michael Piggott blamed the corporate bookmakers for the sting, which he labelled a "disgrace" and bad for the integrity of racing.

Piggott wants corporate bookmakers banned from using TAB totalisator dividends, saying they use its markets but contribute little to the industry.

The Daily Telegraph

[BETTOWIN]

Very interesting article.

Nothing illegal in it and the dog still had to win, and as anyone knows it only takes a knock or two to get even the biggest cert beaten.

Good Luck to them.

John.