Betfair in legal dispute with former head of Irish operations

The judgment was secured in the High Court in London on August 28 by the Sporting Exchange, the holding company that owns Betfair. However, Farrell said he intended to challenge the judgment and said he would take a High Court action against the company. He said he did not owe Betfair any money, and that he disputed the validity of the judgment.

A spokesman for Betfair said the company intended to pursue the collection of the money. The spokesman said that part of Farrell's job entailed collecting money on behalf of the company, and claimed that certain sums had not been handed over when he left the business.

Farrell was recruited by the company in 2002 to help it increase its Irish racing portfolio and to establish contacts in the Irish betting industry. Speaking to The Sunday Business Post last week, Farrell said he increased the company's sales in Ireland from 600,000 euros a month to more than 5 million euros a month.

He had overall responsibility for managing the firm's Irish operations, including collecting money. However, he left the company in 2004 following a series of disagreements. Farrell said he had an agreement with the company whereby he would pay certain expenses directly from the revenue he was collecting.