Rodgers ‘had more than a dozen secret Betfair accounts’

PROFESSIONAL gambler Miles Rodgers was suspected of having more than a dozen secret accounts with an internet betting firm, the Kieren Fallon trial was told yesterday.

Rodgers used the names of friends and acquaintances to place bets on horses to lose, the Old Bailey heard.

But betting exchange Betfair began monitoring the accounts and passed information to the Jockey Club after large sums were placed on Legal Set, a horse Rodgers part-owned.

Rodgers, former champion jockey Fallon and four other men are accused of plotting to make 27 horses lose in order to win money on bets.

Rodgers was said to be the boss of a betting syndicate based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, which staked £2 million (€2.86m) in wagers.

David O’Reilly, Betfair’s legal adviser, told the court that Rodgers had an account and was thought to be using 12 other names in December 2002.

Mr O’Reilly said the accounts “frequently bet quite heavily on the same horse in the same race”.

He added: “Nine or 10 of these accounts were registered in the Sheffield area.

“Some were accessed from the same computer and four used the same password.”

“As (lay) betting increased on a horse (to lose), the odds began to ‘drift’,” he said.

Rodgers’ accounts were responsible for up to 50% of the betting on Betfair where punters could bet on horses to lose.

Mr O’Reilly said accounts controlled by Rodgers bet £73,000 on Legal Set to lose. The largest amount, £55,000, was from an account with his girlfriend’s name on it.

Rodgers was later disqualified by the Jockey Club for betting on his own horse (to lose).

It is alleged that the six defendants were involved in a conspiracy with others between December 2002 and September 2004 to defraud Betfair customers and other punters.

Fallon, 42, formerly of Newmarket, Cambridgeshire, but now of Tipperary, and fellow jockeys Fergal Lynch, 29, of Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire, and Darren Williams, 29, of Leyburn, North Yorkshire, deny the charge.

Shaun Lynch, 37, of Belfast, Rodgers, 38, of Silkstone, South Yorkshire, and Philip Sherkle, 42, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, also plead not guilty.

Rodgers also denies concealing the proceeds of crime. All the defendants are on bail.

Miles Rodgers: pro gambler

HE was described in court as a professional gambler with business interests in South Yorkshire.

In the early stages of the alleged conspiracy, he was a director of Platinum Racing Club Limited, which owned 32 horses in training, including Legal Set.

In April 2004, Rodgers was declared a disqualified person for two years by the Jockey Club. It meant he was banned from entering racecourses and jockeys were barred from having dealings with him.

Rodgers’ business interests included the Bridge Inn pub, Penistone, near Sheffield, where his partner Joanne Richardson was licensee, and the Tiamo restaurant next door.