IBAS is a gambling-specialist Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Service, adjudicating on disputes between licensed gambling operators and their customers since 1998.
To adjudicate on disputes, our staff and adjudicators consider the nature of the bet or game under dispute, the rules or terms that governed the transaction and industry precedent for settling similar disputes; if no relevant rules or industry precedent exists, our adjudicators will base their decision on common sense principles. Since October 2015, IBAS has been under direction from the Gambling Commission (the regulatory authority for gambling in Great Britain) to consider the fairness of the rules and terms used by licence holders when adjudicating on disputes.
Each dispute is adjudicated by a panel of independent experts.
We will take relevant laws and legal precedent into account when adjudicating on disputes, but our primary aim is to deliver a fair-minded, even-handed adjudication that reflects a thorough understanding and knowledge of betting and gaming. Any consumer who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the IBAS process is free to pursue the matter further through the courts. Gambling businesses are bound by IBAS rulings up to £10,000/€10,000 but also are free to demand that any case above that threshold be examined in court.
The IBAS service is free of charge to the consumer and funded by annual registration fees, payable for a year in advance by licensed gambling operators. In registering with IBAS gambling businesses agree to be bound by the Service's own terms and conditions, including agreeing to act in accordance with IBAS rulings. IBAS adjudicators are required to declare any conflict of interest they may have in respect of each and every dispute they are asked to review.
Since launching in 1998, we have received over 75,000 requests to adjudicate on disputes and - as a result of those cases over £6,500,000 has been either awarded or conceded to consumers.