Sportingbet has been found liable by an Australian court after a
company secretary gambled away around £8 million of his company's
money with a subsidiary of the on-line bookmaker and others,
including bets of up to £1 million in a single day.
Dennis Craig Telford, the company secretary of K&S
Transport, is facing fraud charges for allegedly embezzling the
money. But in a decision last week, the South Australia Supreme
Court found Sportingbet liable to K&S Transport for £1 million
of his debts and £300,000 in costs.
Australia's Number One Betting Shop, acquired by Sportingbet in
2001, accepted telephone bets from Telford, who was described by
the court as "having a weakness for slow horses".
The court reasoned that the bets were unusual that that the
company knew the source of the funds – and therefore should have
rejected the bets.
Sportingbet, a publicly traded company on AIM, part of the
London Stock Exchange, said in a statement to investors that it
will appeal the ruling. It has also said that it no longer accepts
bets from "high rollers".
