BetVictor to honour ante-post BetBright bets following deal with Rich Ricci

Rich Ricci has reached an agreement with BetVictor that will result in all BetBright's ante-post wagers being honoured.

The prominent owner was executive chairman of the betting company which sold its technology arm to rival 888 in a £15 million deal last month. The Gambling Commission stated the sale helped avoid "the very real possibility of going into insolvent liquidation if [BetBright] remained open".

BetBright originally chose to refund all ante-post bets, a move the Gambling Commission concluded was the best option despite it resulting in a string of complaints to the government regulator from punters.

888 subsequently announced it would honour ante-post bets on the Cheltenham Festival as a 'goodwill' gesture, but all other bets would be voided when BetBright ceased offering gambling services on March 5.

However Ricci, who was criticised in the aftermath of the announcement but stood by his belief BetBright had acted in the best interests of all parties, has reached an agreement with BetVictor to see all wagers – from the Grand National to season-long football bets and everything in between – honoured, should former BetBright customers wish to do so.

Speaking to the Racing Post on Friday, Ricci said: "BetVictor were very good to partner with me and I've been working on trying to find a solution for this since the problem happened.

Rich Ricci: 'Delighted' to have reached a solution with BetVictorCredit: Mark Cranham

"I tried to explain there was a corporate process that had to take place and the directors had to act in the interest of all their liability holders and that was the course of action they took.

"In the business world that's the way it works and it had to run its course, and then there were other technical difficulties in trying to solve the problem – not least of which is I'm not a bookmaker.

"I'm delighted I've been able to partner with BetVictor to reach a solution."

He added: "I understood the frustration [expressed by punters], but this is a situation I've been trying to find a solution for since it was created. The corporate route had to take its course and I'm delighted we've found a solution in the end. But it's something I've been working on for quite a while and I want to thank BetVictor for helping us resolve the problem."

A statement from BetVictor read: "We feel that customers should always be able to place a bet with full confidence that they will be paid in full if successful so we're pleased to have found a solution to help the customers affected."

BetBright have refunded all bets and any customer wishing to have their bet honoured will need to contact bbantepost@betvictor.com and deposit the stake into their BetVictor account for any bets to be reinstated at the odds at which they were struck. Any bets settled since March 5 – other than on the Cheltenham Festival as they have been honoured by 888 – that have already won will be paid out as well.

Customers with ante-post bets with BetBright they wish to have honoured can find out more about the full process and what is required in BetVictor's FAQ's here.

Matt Scarrott, the director of BetVictor's sportsbook, said: "We're happy to be supporting Rich to address this situation, enabling former BetBright punters to reinstate their ante-post bets via our BetVictor betting platform. We'll make the process as simple and frictionless as possible to provide customers with an enjoyable betting experience with us."

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