Happy anniversary BetButler withdrawal delays! Was just thinking how quiet it had all gone on BetButler, then realised it was about this time in 2014 that slow withdrawals were first posted on The Gambling Times. Since then BetButler have of course ceased trading, and parent company BetClearer are in liquidation. Many customers are out of pocket, so what's the latest? |
The first delayed withdrawal took 11 days to appear in a customer's account, far beyond the normal reporting of 3 days for card and less for Skrill. It's a red flag to anyone involved in matched betting or advantage play betting when a withdrawal takes that long to hit your account and prompted a lot of savy people to immediately withdraw to avoid getting burnt. Lots of people aren't that aware though and they stayed in, even continued betting and were drawn in by the excuses around payment providers and verification.
How we've got to this position where no one knows what's happening is still a bit of a mystery. Customers of BetButler were essentially sold to Momaco.co via the player database. Momaco.co themselves announced that all player balances would be honoured, but that was the last anyone heard from them. There are reports now doing the rounds that the client database is being touted around other operators, but realistically there is no hope of anyone receiving their funds back now.
So what of BetButler and the director Andy Hosie? BetButler have ceased trading, the parent company is being liquidated (but some smart accounting meant that no customers of BetButler were part of that process even though they held the funds). Andy himself didn't turn up for the BetButler liquidation meeting and the company is still active, of a manner at least, for one thing they're behind on their accounts.
The questions still to be answered, and still being studiously avoided by the Gambling Commission, are was the company trading whilst insolvent, and what form of legal process will be brought against the directors of BetButler? It's inconceivable that the commission don't have some information that would either out the directors as liars, or show they were breaking laws. But still we hear nothing.
No one at this stage realistically expects to get their money back, but everyone deserves some answers as to how this could happen, and as importantly, what's being done to prevent it happening again.
For all the latest on BetButler (however limited the flow of information is now) then head over to The Gambling Times complaints board. It was their most viewed thread in 2014, nearly 100,000 hits. Suggests there's a public interest in answers coming out, but no one with the information seems to want to give it up.