Our man on the scene in Australia, Greg Tingle, has notified us of a major cheating scandal down under involving some 40 operators allegedly ripping off punters in Queensland.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Office of Fair Trading  investigators are chasing millions of dollars lost by hundreds of punters through 30 so-called sporting arbitrage companies, mostly from the Gold Coast.

Half these companies have vanished, according to reports. 

Sporting arbitrage involves customers being offered "guaranteed" wins by spreading their bets on all possible outcomes with different bookmakers.

According to the Courier-Mail story, the probe has also embroiled nine software firms, such as Bundall-based Sports Investment Services,  which touts sports betting returns of 56 per cent compared with only 6 and 9 per cent on the share and property markets.

About 650 punters have filed complaints and were unable to contact companies once they paid membership fees of between $3000 and $19,000.

"They are simply scams which are designed to take the money of unwitting consumers," Fair Trading Minister, Peter Lawlor, said. "We also found that once these companies start receiving complaints from their clients, they often simply close down and start up again somewhere else under a new name."

The probe, which has also involved the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, does not involve mainstream betting companies such as UNiTAB or Betfair.

Sports Investment Services director Mark Henderson last night said he had had several complaints, but insisted he had done nothing wrong and sold software to help pick winners.

"It gives clients stand-out picks to bet on," he said.

Asked about the claims of 56 per cent betting returns on the company's website, Mr Henderson said: "At the time when it was published these figures were correct but they are variable and at different points they can return different things."

Gambling911.com Staff