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Businessman sues Ladbrokes for return of £3.3m as he says bets were illegal as he was in Spain

A businessman has sued Ladbrokes for a return of £3.3m as he says his bets were illegal because he was at his second home in Spain.
A businessman has sued Ladbrokes for a return of £3.3m as he says his bets were illegal because he was at his second home in Spain.

A businessman has sued Ladbrokes for a return of £3.3m as he says his bets were illegal because he was at his second home in Spain.

In newly released documents filed at London's High Court, recruitment firm boss Terry Allan, 57, claims he was such a prolific gambler that he had his own dedicated telephone line to a betting shop in Rose Street, Aberdeen.

In five years between 2014 and 2018 he bet around £400,000 a week through the shop, making many thousands of individual bets.

But he argues that many of his bets were placed with the shop when he was staying at his holiday home in Southern Spain, and that this was illegal under Spanish law.

Because of this, he says, he should be reimbursed all the money he staked, less the amount he has won. In total he is claiming £3,368,531.61 for bets placed over three years. He is also seeking the return of his stakes in 2014 and 2015 but has not yet provided figures for this.

His writ claims that Ladbrokes Coral turned a blind eye to his stays, telling staff at the shop not to ask him where he was, so that the company was not forced to decline wagers he placed when in Spain.

Solicitor and Director of Selachii Legal, Richard Howlett told The Telegraph that should Mr Allan win the case it will “open up floodgates to thousands of claims from anyone who has ever placed a bet from abroad on the phone, or internet or via a gambling app or even a lottery ticket online.”

He noted that Ladbrokes have restricted territories in their terms and conditions but that Spain is not one of them.

Mr Allan, of Ardgowan, 6 Westburn Crescent, Aberdeen, argues that under Spanish law, since 2011 betting companies have needed a licence to operate in Spain, even if the bets are placed by phone from Spain to a different company.

Ladbrokes Coral and its remote service Ladbrokes Premier did not have the licence needed, making all of the bets he placed when in Spain illegal, says the writ.

He contends that the company has been unjustly enriched by receiving his betting stakes, and seeks repayment of £3,368,531.61 and other sums yet to be provided, as well as interest of 8% a year.

A spokesperson for Ladbrokes Coral said: “We are aware that Court proceedings have been issued against Ladbrokes on unfounded grounds that certain historic bets were accepted illegally pursuant to Spanish law. We believe the claim to be entirely without merit and intend to defend it vigorously.”