[citlec]

Betchance has just rung me and told me that they are closing down. The women said they are giving people 2 options

Option 1 is they pay you 25% of your balance and lose the rest in a months time.

Option 2 is you will get all your money in 20 months but this is not guarnteed.

The women said most people are going for option 1 which is understandable.

Expect a phone call from them in the next month. She did sound very sad and came across as she didnt want to be telling people this news but we expected it really.

Its been 10 Months since the time i got a payment from them.

[bigboydan]

It's been a brutal bumpy ride for players who are stuck in this Betchance fiasco. I guess if I had to pick and choose one of those options right now it would be option 1. Because it's already been roughly 10+ months and it's obvious in 20 more months time that it's not going to get any better.

[CrazyLou]

That is unfortunate indeed.

[bigboydan]

This incident was probably worse than the Cascade one Crazyl.

[Bill Dozer]

Ouch, I see we have some similar emails coming in on this. Sorry to hear citlec

[bigboydan]

BetChance (SBR rating F) player reports that the sportsbook informed him it will finally close

The player states the no-pay sportsbook called to offer him a settlement of 25% of his balance or the possibility of being paid in 20 months. BetChance has been unable to clear delinquent withdrawal requests for almost a year while teasing owed users with email updates about new ownership and small sporadic payments to a fortunate few. Most players do not expect to see any of their funds and now believe the empty promises and positive updates were part of the scam to remain operational in Malta while collecting from new depositors.

[CrazyLou]

So no 25% either?

[Champi]

I m not sure but from i have read here is some info for Malta:

''Malta began licensing online gambling sites in 2000 under the Public Lotto Ordinance. Since then, the Lotteries and Gaming Authority (LGA) has developed its policies and procedures of remote gambling operations.

All licensees must pay an initial licensing fee of MTL 1,000. There are also recurring licensing fees. The gaming tax is 0.5% of turnover.
In September 2007, Malta made the United Kingdom’s “white list” of countries that match England’s stringent gaming regulations. As a result, the number of licensees in Malta has seen a steady rise.''

So To obtain licence you need to pay 3500$ tax fee?!
Does LGA -Malta have any chance to do this about BetChance?
And how other players may sleep peacefully when 1 firm from their jurisdiction have financial troubles and plaeyrs shouyld a wait 2 years to receive 25% of their funds.
The big problem here i think is that BetChance still accept deposits and LGA-Malta didnt do anything.
Very very poor.

[geon]

Just curious, how long has this bookie been online for?

[Champi]

I remember they start online about summer 2006 and 1 year later was the bankrupt.
Btw i heard from friends in Italy that they have local shops there and they pay without problem,but maybe on internet is different.

[citlec]

I suppose getting 25% back is better than them taking what money was left and running like Pointbet and a few others did. I was resigned to losing that money anyway so to get 25% back is better than i thought. Question is when will i get it. Ill keep SBR forum updated with my progress.

[geon]

Do you really believe these bookies went bankrupt?

[BossE]

LOL!! those tricky buggers, id recommend find a good 1 before putting money into a site.

[mbo]

I've been waiting nearly nine months for payment. Betchance have stopped answering e-mails since last year and compliants to the Compliance Officer at the Maltese LGA have been ignored too; there seems to be no player protection here at all. It amazes me that this backward state dares to claim to be a market leader in regulatory policy.

Mario Galea (CEO of the Maltese LGA) states, "of greater concern from the consumers’ perspective is the fact that where there is a policy of prohibition of online gaming, it may already be permitting a high volume of traffic without any regulatory policies to protect players."
See: http://www.lga.org.mt/lga/files_fold...g%20Speech.pdf
There are no policies of prohibition to concern me in the U.K. What concerns me more is that the Maltese LGA appears willing to provide a licence to and support any bookmaker who will pay its fees, but seemingly has no regulatory policies in place to protect players from delinquent licensees who accept deposits, accept bets and then blankly refuse to pay out.

Any ideas as to where we go from here to get our rightful monies returned?

[eyeball]

I hope they pay you the 25%, BJO closed down and I got a big goose egg. I am sorry this happen to you.