FRAUD squad detectives have been asked to probe the collapse of online Melbourne bookmaker Sports Alive, which allegedly traded while insolvent for more than two years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The ACT-registered betting agency tipped into administration in August, wiping $3.7 million from the pockets of almost 13,000 punters.
![More than just the flag was up for grabs on grand final day. Photo: Paul Rovere More than just the flag was up for grabs on grand final day. Photo: Paul Rovere](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/929a3340-583f-47eb-a4de-73400d6013a3.jpg/r0_0_353_521_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission has asked Victoria Police to investigate whether fraud was involved in the collapse.
''They are considering the information we have given them to see if it is worthy, or if there is significant evidence for a criminal investigation,'' ACT Gambling and Racing Commission chief executive Greg Jones said.
He said Victoria Police might forward the case to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
While he was hesitant to go into details, Mr Jones said he was concerned about the accuracy and honesty of information provided to the commission by Sports Alive.
''What they identified to us as patron funds appears not to have been the actual case.''
The collapse of Sports Alive comes at a time when the online gambling industry is facing increasing scrutiny.
There are growing concerns about the regulation of online gambling businesses, with the majority of Melbourne-based operators licensed interstate.
Liquidator Hamish Mackinnon of Bent & Cougle said Sports Alive's deficiency exceeded $13 million, including $12.5 million owed to secured and unsecured creditors and $950,000 that was owed to employees.
Mr Mackinnon said audit reports indicated Sports Alive had been trading while insolvent since 2008.
He said it was unlikely the company complied with the ACT's bookmaking act, which requires bookmakers to maintain a separate bank account for all betting money.
Tote Tasmania's $5 million investment in Sports Alive has come under fire and will be part of a parliamentary committee investigation into the state-owned betting agency.
Audit reports reveal Sports Alive was insolvent at the time Tote invested in the company in December 2009.
Mr Mackinnon said his investigations of the insolvent trading would continue.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police were assessing a file that they had received about Sports Alive.
The collapse of the company on August 25 could not have come at a worse time for punters, with many waiting on the outcome of the AFL grand final for long-standing open bets.