Queensland's sports betting industry has been rocked by a probe into almost 40 operators allegedly ripping off punters with elaborate scams.
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.
It is understood half of the companies have vanished, after police found only empty land or a post office box as the principal place of business after following up customer complaints.
Sporting arbitrage involves customers being offered "guaranteed" wins by spreading their bets on all possible outcomes with different bookmakers.
But 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 complained since last August after losing on the intricate betting systems or being unable to contact companies once they paid membership fees of between $3000 and $19,000.
Fair Trading Minister Peter Lawlor last night said the high number of complaints showed consumers were rarely pocketing any profits.
"They are simply scams which are designed to take the money of unwitting consumers," Mr 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 Office of Fair Trading would not confirm which companies were in the investigation's sights.
The Courier-Mail understands that Suncity Equities and Investments and a firm called Profitrunner were also being investigated.
The money thought to have been lost through the companies, which are often part of a tangled web of other companies, is believed to be between $4 million and $6 million.
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."
Mr Lawlor said some of the companies styled themselves as investment schemes using "financial instruments" and "risk free" to secure the profits. They also often used telemarketers with false names to entice clients into parting with their money. (Credit: The Courier-Mail)
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