Australian bookie Tom Waterhouse has been sued by white label operator Bet247 over Tom’s role in the 2011 rescue of Bet247 clients following the failure of Bet247’s wagering services provider Sports Alive. The Melbourne-based, Australian Capital Territory-licensed Sports Alive went belly-up two years ago, leaving 18k punters out $3.9m in deposits. A post-mortem by auditors revealed Sports Alive had failed to segregate player funds from its operating capital, and had in fact been effectively insolvent for years prior to the collapse. As part of the company’s liquidation, Bet247 agreed to transfer 8,267 betting clients to Waterhouse’s company, which promised to honor those customers’ existing balances.
In the suit filed on Monday in the state of Victoria’s Supreme Court, Bet247 alleges that Waterhouse has breached the terms of that 2011 agreement, including the obligation to continue distributing profit shares on Bet247’s former clients until December 2015. Bet247 claims not to have received any such profit sharing between January and June 2013. Bet247 further alleges that Waterhouse miscalculated Bet247 players’ starting balances and wrongfully deducted amounts described as goods and services tax (GST). Bet247 claims the total amount it’s been deprived of between August 2011 and December 2012 comes to $247,979, and Bet247 is also seeking interest on that amount plus the unpaid profit shares from this year.
It’s not been a great week for the Waterhouse clan, as Racing NSW stewards just finished slapping Tom’s mom Gai with a $2k fine on Tuesday for her role in the ‘More Joyous affair.’ Come to think of it, it’s not been a great year, what with Tom’s promotional appearances during National Rugby League television broadcasts prompting state and national governments to institute sweeping industry-wide prohibitions on live odds promotion. Frankly, the rumored acquisition of Waterhouse’s operations by UK bookies William Hill better wrap up soon, before Ralph Topping discovers that Tom once shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.
