The British gambling operator BetFred has been accused of withholding funds from punters in spite of its promise to honour the former MoPlay customers’ funds.
In March 2020, BetFred announced the takeover of MoPlay’s customer database from a Gibraltar-based liquidator following the announcement of insolvency of the online gambling brand’s former owner, Addison Global. Shortly before this happened, the then-owner of MoPlay had stopped processing its customer withdrawals following the decision of the gambling watchdogs first in Gibraltar and then in the UK to revoke its operating licence.
At the time when Addison Global’s insolvency was announced, customers who had funds in their accounts were not able to withdraw the money. However, after an auction for the customer database of MoPlay was held, a statement issued by the online gambling brand informed its clients that the new owner of the database would honour the customer cash balance so that they could withdraw their funds and continue to play safely.
Furthermore, at the time when the announcement was made, MoPlay revealed that BetFred would get in contact with the customers registered in the UK or Ireland and provide them with more information about setting up an account with the company’s new owner and accessing the existing balance.
Last week, a spokesperson for BetFred explained that the operator was currently unable to confirm the overall number of accounts that had not migrated from MoPlay to BetFred. They also shared that the UK gambling company had successfully migrated around 180,000 customer accounts from MoPlay to its database, with self-excluded or frozen accounts specifically excluded. The company’s spokesperson further noted that no due diligence on the individuals’ profitability was conducted, nor had the company shut any BetFred accounts to prevent the previously-announced balances migration.
The BetFred’s spokesperson explained that the gambling operator’s actions were in line with the terms of its contract with the liquidator. He further noted that the customers who did not migrate their accounts with MoPlay’s new owner were directed to the liquidator to submit their claims.
BetFred Says It Had Migrated about 180,000 MoPlay Accounts
According to reports, approximately 180,000 MoPlay accounts had migrated to the online gambling brand’s new owner since the acquisition. For the time being, the number of the customers who did not make the transition remains unknown, while a few individuals who used to be MoPlay customers have approached an online forum that campaigns on various issues affecting local gamblers, Justice4Punters, and complained that their existing funds were not transferred to BetFred despite they had accounts with MoPlay’s new owner.
As understood, these customers had had their accounts restricted, either by MoPlay or BetFred, because they were considered unprofitable by the gambling companies. According to information provided by The Guardian, one such account had a £27,000 balance with MoPlay but it did not migrate with the online gambling brand’s new owner. Another customer with a balance of £680 has complained that his account with BetFred, which had had an overall profit of approximately £300, was shut by the bookmaker only a couple of days after the announcement of the MoPlay customer list’s acquisition.
The reports were confirmed by Brian Chappell from Justice4Punters, who explained that the website had received some complaints about not having seen their balances transferred to the new database owner. All of these customers have had their betting accounts restricted either by MoPlay or BetFred. According to Justice4Punters, there has not been clear evidence why these individuals are facing different treatment, except for the fact that such treatment seems to be “commercially convenient” for the gambling company.
- Author
Olivia Cole
