Betdaq to formalise Jockey Club cooperation BETDAQ has today signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Jockey Club, which will assist the regulator further in monitoring and maintaining the integrity of the sport. The betting exchange has worked closely with the regulator in relation to betting patterns since it was launched two years ago, but declined to sign a previous agreement on the grounds that it did not offer sufficient protection to those tens of thousands of customers who bet innocently every day.'We have worked hard on this with Paul Scotney and his team at the Jockey Club' said Rob Hartnett, BETDAQ´s UK Managing Director. 'I believe we have now got a good balance between protecting the rights of the innocent and exposing the activity, should it arise, of anyone who threatens the integrity of the sport.'The Memorandum of Understanding will come into effect later in the summer, after customers of the exchange have been notified. It will allow the Jockey Club to request information on named individuals around whom it has suspicions. Should those individuals have an account with BETDAQ, and the activity on their account meets certain specific criteria, then their details will be passed to the regulator, under strict conditions of care over their use, to assist in any investigations. Furthermore, BETDAQ will continue to monitor all activity against those same criteria, and make certain information available to the Jockey Club, which will be of assistance in enhancing the reputation of the sport.The specific criteria will not be made public but have been agreed with the Jockey Club as being of material use in determining whether certain individual participants in the sport are involved in activity that is damaging to its reputation.'The basic rule is that if you get caught up innocently in backing or laying a horse around whom there is suspicion, you will not be exposed to any undeserving investigation,' said Hartnett. If on the other hand your betting is linked to the small number of suspicious cases that arise, then you will be found out.'
