Wiltshire | Archive | 2000 | September | 8
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Friday 8th Sep 2000.
A Warminster-based on-line betting service launched with the help of eight-year-old computer whizz kid Joseph Allen has raised more than £1,000 for charity.
The money has been collected after a direct mail campaign by Betachance.com
The company delivered £50 notes to a selected group of people to get them to give the site a try.
Money returned or winnings so far have been donated to the Injured Jockey Fund.
The Wiltshire Times news team logged on to the site in a bid to make the most of its £50.
After taking advice from a local racing expert, the team placed £10 bets on five horses racing at Doncaster on Wednesday.
The racing started at 1.30pm and the last race was at 4.10pm.
During the five races, the newsroom atmosphere ranged from silence and disappointment to great delight, as two of the backed horses romped home.
The Wiltshire Times will donate its winnings to a local charity.
Internet betting is becoming more and more popular.
Betachance.com is based in Mauritius and is tax and commission free.
Chairman Peter Holmes said: We've had
a great response and lots of punters have given us a try.
We believe strongly in giving something back into the racing community and all of us here felt that it should be the IJF.
When bets are placed, the internet betting site, pictured below, shows the date, time and location of each race and the horses backed, with the stake, starting price and the return, you can collect if your horse is a winner.
The Wiltshire Times winning horses were Innit in the 2.05, and Compton Banker in the 2.35.
© Newsquest Media Group 2008