History

IBAS was launched in 1998 by Trinity Mirror (then publishers of the ‘Sporting Life’) as the Independent Betting Arbitration Service.

Before the 2005 Gambling Act, there was no legal protection for either party in a disputed bet. It was commonly believed that a bet was a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, leaving those with grievances nowhere to turn. To address the grievances of bettors in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, The Green Seal Service consumer column was introduced by the Sporting Life newspaper, with informal agreements made with major bookmaking companies. However, the increasing number and complexity of complaints led to the need for a standalone service, which IBAS now provides.

A regular consumer column The Green Seal Service in the Mirror Group-owned Sporting Life newspaper had informally addressed the grievances of bettors in the UK and Republic of Ireland by informal agreement with the major bookmaking companies but by the mid-late 1990s there was a growing recognition that the scale and nature of complaints justified a stand-alone service.