Gibraltar Easter Day Explosion Halts Online Bets for Sunday Sporting Events

William Hill, BetFred and Ladbrokes were just three of the big name online bookmakers that operate from Gibraltar where an early afternoon generator fire and subsequent explosion knocked each of these businesses offline.

During the late afternoon hours bookmakers and poker sites like PartyPoker had begun to get their respective websites back online but not before losing business during peak hours of one of the busiest betting days of the week.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said its services were disrupted for about two-and-a-half hours.

He told AFP: "It's just one of those freak events nobody could have predicted.

"There will be those who will claim they would have backed a winner but there will be others who have been saved from backing a loser."

If there was any good news for these bookmakers it was that there were not any marquee betting events scheduled during the afternoon.

For the rock island of Gibraltar, online gambling is one of the most vital segments of its economy.  The territory offers tax incentives that has drawn in some of the biggest wagering firms from the UK and beyond.

Power was knocked out to all of Gibraltar and many residents had to be evacuated, however, there were no injuries reported.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com