What we did was fairest solution: Rich Ricci opens up about BetBright closure

Rich Ricci moved to set the record straight on Wednesday when claiming the shock closure of BetBright and voiding of all ante-post bets was the fairest solution on the table for the troubled bookmaker.

On Monday it was revealed online gaming and betting company 888 had bought BetBright's sports betting platform for £15 million, with the bookmaker's brand not expected to continue, while on Tuesday BetBright customers were notified that all unsettled single bets will be voided.

They were also told that unsettled multiple bets that have winning legs associated will be settled as a winning bet, with the remaining unsettled legs voided.

However, with the story front-page news in the Racing Post and a number of complaints directed towards the Gambling Commission, 888 on Wednesday announced they would honour existing Cheltenham ante-post positions as a "gesture of goodwill".

Leading owner Ricci, who has 15 Cheltenham Festival winners to his name, the latest of whom, Benie Des Dieux, is hotly fancied to score again next week, came on board for BetBright as executive chairman and business face of the bookmaker in 2016.

Ricci himself took a lot of flak – in social and mainstream media – over the voiding of bets, and said of the 'goodwill' announcement: "It's a very nice gesture by them – they didn't buy the sports book – and it's great for the clients who have open bets with us.

"But it doesn't change my perspective that what we did was the fair and equitable thing by all our customers. I'm sorry for those that feel that's not right, but we acted in the interest of trying to have a solution that's equal for everyone."

Exact details of BetBright's ante-post position cannot be provided as it is proprietary and commercial, said Ricci, but he did confirm vastly more punters stood to benefit rather than miss out from their decision to void and that liabilities in such markets were "small".

"It's unusual and maybe that's why people have reacted as they have," he said. "Historically you've had companies go bankrupt and companies sold – this is a partial sale, and without the engine of the company [the technology] we need to wind up what's left.

"We looked at the situation and thought, in terms of the open bets out there, the fairest thing in terms of doing the best for as many punters as we can – but also treating everyone equally – was to refund stakes.

"In doing so we recognise there will be some people holding on to what they hope will be a large return, but may or may not come in, and the vast majority will have losing positions or tickets that may end up losing, so we felt refunding stakes was equal for everyone. People who backed Samcro to win the Champion Hurdle will get their money back.

"I'm sorry for people who thought they were onto a winner and the price had shortened, but the company's gone – it's not going to exist – and we felt this was the fairest way.

"At least with this timing it gives people the opportunity to do something else with their money. We recognise we're not going to make everyone happy, but it seemed the fairest solution for all."

Rich Ricci with Ruby Walsh, Willie Mullins and one of his stable stars, FaugheenCredit: Caroline Norris

He continued: "This was a deal that allowed people to get out. It's not a windfall, trust me.

"If we hadn't done a deal – or found another investor, and we were talking to other people – then we probably would have had to cut our cloth, but there wasn't talk of bankruptcy around the board table. We thought it was best for all our constituents, including our employees.

"It was a way to give the company a chance to succeed, and by that I mean we've sold to someone who has a large global footprint that can take the company to the next level. We weren't prepared to do that.

"That doesn't mean we were going to go into bankruptcy, or not change the business around, but on balance we felt this was the best solution for everyone."

That solution was selling the technological arm of BetBright, Dedsert Limited, and winding down the rest of the company under the Kelfast Limited banner.

For Ricci and the other board members, it is a sale that prompts disappointment rather than delight.

"I'm a minority shareholder and an executive chairman and, along with the chief executive Marcus Brennan, have been running the company," said Ricci.

"We put a lot of time, energy and money into this business and this is certainly not a windfall profit for all of us. That happens in business.

"We're sad we couldn't achieve what we wanted to do on our own, but we're delighted the transaction gives the company an opportunity to move on.

"The investors, a lot of us are technology people, and staff are very proud of what we built, and I can see why people are attracted to it - but we also know the UK market is very difficult to break into and get scale in."

And all things considered that one word - scale - is at the heart of the whole reason BetBright finds itself selling off its prized asset and winding down.

"The building of the technology was a great idea and the whole company was based on having that, which would give us a great advantage," said Ricci. "But we may have underestimated the competition in the industry.

"All of the concessions make it very difficult to compete. Building scale in the UK is tough, and starting there was maybe a step too far. This is all speculative, but maybe we should have started somewhere else or tried to be more creative.

"A lot of good people came to work for BetBright and at the end of the day we couldn't build the scale - we just didn't have the footprint or the cross-selling capabilities of some of our competitors. That's what I'd say was the biggest problem we had. But we're very proud of the product, we all are."

As to whether voiding open bets could have set a dangerous precedent, Ricci added: "I think, because the transaction is unique, and only part of the company was purchased - thereby leaving some assets and liabilities behind that need to be dealt with - it's unusual.

"You can't predict the timing of deals – you do the deal when it's ready to be done – and you'd like to think these things are one-offs, but you can't preclude it happening again in the future.

"While I understand it, the actions that need to be taken need to be in the interests of the entire book. Maybe there should be a chat about it, we'd be open to sharing any lessons we've learned with regulators and others who may find themselves in this position in future."

He added: "From our perspective, the positions weren't large enough – given the size of our overall business – to cause a major shake-up, like if it was a bigger bookmaker.

"I can understand it, the timing of business is the timing of business, but that doesn't mean I'm not empathetic with the issue. It's an unusual transaction and one we haven't seen before."

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