Idol bungle traps internet punters

The usually rock-solid Betfair.com forgot to close the book this week in Australia for their version of Pop Idol.

Gamblers in the State of Victoria were able to cash in for an hour until viewers in Queensland, who are an hour behind, had yet to hear the final result.

Betfair moved quickly to cancel all bets made after the result was announced.

Betfair have come under extensive scrutiny within the Australian Gambling industry when they announced they were setting up an office and getting a license in Australia. They have continued to work openly to try to build a good reputation in the Australian market

In other Betfair news, they've announced that they paid out �367,000 to Sporting Options customers since the competing exchange went into administration last week.

Betfair came up with a rescue package for Sporting Options customers offering up to �1,000 to those with a balance up to this amount - or 20% to those with a higher account balance.