Worried she might tell his ex-partner, he said he revealed to cashier Gemma Mehmet that "he had a bit of a problem" and that he did not want his ex-partner to find out, fearing it could restrict him seeing his children if she knew he was gambling.

However, Chris Gillespie, barrister for the defence, disputed O'Brien's recollection of the conversation with Mehmet, telling him, "the real point is that you never told Gemma Mehmet about your gambling problem," and suggesting "this is all nonsense".

Unwittingly, Mehmet, who now lives in Spain, played a big part in proceedings on day one, as the circumstances around her absence from court were deemed to be "in breach of civil procedure rules" by judge Heather Baucher, who said she would permit Mehmet's previous statement to be relied upon for now but, considering Mehmet cannot be cross-examined by the claimant's legal team, what weight could ultimately be given to her statement remained in question.

O'Brien's claim was the focal point on Monday and he came under sustained examination from Gillespie for the defence, who said the claimant liked to make "a great play to how wealthy and well connected he was".

Among the revelations were O'Brien's former relationship with Claire Caudwell, former partner of billionaire Phones 4U founder John Caudwell, and that he had made £2. The court also heard how he lost £, in one night at a casino only to make it all back and more during a "purple patch" over the following eight months.

Four days have been set aside at the Central London County Court for the hearing, which continues on Tuesday. Read these next:. Gambling Commission hit Kindred Group with penalties totalling £7.

BHA warns MPs affordability checks could be 'financially devastating' for British racing. Published on 27 March in Britain. Last updated , 27 March next race 22 MINS Wolverhampton A. My Bookmakers. Free Bets. Racing Tips. Everyone info. Get full control of your bet tickets anytime and anywhere.

The Bet Tracker App offers a broad range of industry-leading betting management options, giving you full control of your bets. Check your tickets status anytime on-the-go, watch the live match flow to follow in-play events in real time or cash out early if your bet turns against you.

You can also transfer won tickets back to a terminal in a shop! This is a real money gambling app. Please gamble responsibly and only bet what you can afford.

The app itself is very well brought together, facilitating a user-friendly experience for customers who want to bet on the go. We also have to commend what was a faultless technical performance all round. Top marks! There are plenty of other products for punters to enjoy with StarSports, including casino , live casino and virtual sports.

While there are currently no welcome offers for new customers to enjoy, StarSports still offers over casino, 30 live casino, and 10 virtual events. Their coverage of this particular market is superb and complemented wonderfully by a detailed and frequently updated blog.

Nevertheless, as a result of their super mobile app, competitive odds and faultless technical performance, this bookie may well entice a few interested punters despite the lack of a new customer offer.

Having said that, though, for StarSports to be considered a top-tier bookie, their customer service has to be improved. They could also stand to offer punters more when it comes to promotions — especially welcome offers. Overall, this is a bookie that shines brightly in some respects, but is undermined by one or two glaring faults.

Check our help guide for more info. StarSports Quick Facts Website StarSports Betting Review Betting Options. Deposit Methods. MAIN FEATURES.

Pros: Competitive odds Superb blog Great mobile app Top-notch horse racing offering. Cons: Sub-par customer service Lack of payment methods No VIP Program No welcome offer.

Table of Contents StarSports Betting Review. Withdrawing Winnings Fortunately, we were lucky enough to win our first bet placed with this bookmaker. Welcome Offer No welcome offer for new customers. Competitive odds, meanwhile, would hand StarSports a major advantage over its competitors.

Punters can display their odds as decimals or fractions with this bookie. Placing a Bet After topping up our StarSports account, we explored their sportsbook and decided to place a bet on one of the midweek Carabao Cup fixtures.

That was all we needed to do to place a bet with StarSports. Our bet receipt is shown above. You can also bet on who you think will be the next James Bond! Security 4.

At the time of review there was football, tennis, cricket, basketball and a few other sports covered. Covering the entire globe, each had a good amount of markets, particularly the football, and this is supported by graphics and statistics to help inform our betting.

Live streaming is available on the Star Sports site and app for horse racing and greyhound racing, assuming you have placed a bet on the race. To watch a race you must place a £1 minimum bet, either a single of each way bet to be specific.

The quality of the stream is really good and if Star Sports upped the number and variety of sports that it offers live streaming on then it would start making its way onto our best bookmaker for live streaming list. In most cases, where Star Sports makes our Top 10s, odds play a big part in why it does so.

Star Sports is regularly one of the best places to find long odds for sports such as cricket, NFL, darts, racing and others.

The Star Sports mobile app is very good. When you open the Star Sports app for Android or IOS or on your tablet you can quickly see there is a lot going on, the screen is awash with the latest free bets, promotions, favourites and a quick bet slip.

Now we are normally keener on the "less is more" adage with betting apps, as sometimes apps try to fit a quart into a pint pot, but despite the myriad of information going on, the Star Sports app home screen works well, and it felt like a place you would enjoy.

Star Sports was a little slow in releasing an app, but they have clearly spent time and money developing it. When we checked there had been regular upgrades, this is a sign that the Star Sports developers are constantly looking for ways to enhance the Star Sports app.

Star Sports's football section is good. To dive into things a bit deeper, head to our best bookmakers for football betting to see if Star Sports makes our list. Just look for the yellow icon at the top of the market selection on each event.

For one football bet I made, there were plenty of options — maybe not as many as some of the absolute best — but a great option, nonetheless. The Star Sports promos team are creating huge betting interest. Cashout is a very important betting feature for punters these days so it's crucial that bookies integrate this feature into their mobile betting apps.

Star Sports have done this well allowing their customers to instantly cash out their bets on any device they like. Star Sports ranks highly when it comes to horse racing betting. This is a bookmaker that has built its reputation literally on the track, offering a personal service to its punters.

Star Sports Best Odds Guaranteed offer is available daily on all UK and Ireland horse racing bets, from 9. The Star Sports BOG applies to single and multiple bets placed and although there are some bookies who offer BOG from earlier, not all do it on greyhounds as well, which Star Sports do.

A full range of American Sports is available. Beyond that there are lots of international markets for these sports. The odds at Star Sports are very good, and it is one the best places in the country to bet on American football.

You can also get each way odds on any outright bets, so when comparing the best American football betting sites in the UK, Star Sports absolutely deserves its place on our list. Star Sports is a solid option for basketball betting, overall. Keep tabs on the top basketball betting sites though, to see in more detail why they top our list.

Obviously there is the NBA, but also NCAA games, and leagues across the globe including Australia, Latvia, South Korea, Italy and Poland. There are outrights for World Series winners, plus American League and National League, also.

That said, it would be nice is there was a little sprinkling of player futures — MVP, Cy Young award etc. Like the basketball offering, as well as the biggest league in the sport, the NHL, there are a huge number of other leagues around the globe.

You can bet on games in Switzerland, Sweden, England, the Czech Republic and more. There are good outright future markets for NHL betting, and the markets within games are loaded. Star Sports rounds off our list of the best greyhound betting sites in 10th.

There are frequent promotions including £50 cashback , a huge range of betting markets and their live streaming is better than most.

It appears that Star Sports have decided to focus on specific things and do them well. Star Sports also offer money back as a free bet if your selection loses by a short head for selected meets.

You can get great value on darts markets at Star Sports, one of the reasons it ranks as one of the best darts betting sites in the country. You can see how they compare to our best snooker betting sites. Star Sports offers a consistent, brilliant offering across the board.

For a bit of everything, Star Sports is your one-stop shop, and the site is so easy to navigate, with top rugby events easy to find via its quick links.

Check how it compares in our top rugby betting sites. By James Banting - The second best cricket betting site in the UK is Star Sports. Star Sports may not have live streaming or even odds boosts and stats like the no. This is a bookmaker that focuses on providing cricket punters with the best, most competitive odds around.

Want some promotions and boosts across more markets then look elsewhere? Simply want the best price on a bet, then nowhere is better than Star Sports. By James Banting - Star Sports has a decent event coverage for the tennis season. Obviously there are the Grand Slams, but also every tournament on the ATP and WTA tours, as well as Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Challenger Series, as well as even smaller tournaments.

Generally the odds here are really good, and definitely a consideration when placing tennis bets. By Andy Powell - Star Sports is better than most, but not at the very top. Very few bookmakers run motorsport specific promotions more of that later but despite that, there are good opportunities at Star Sports to take advantage of general promotions and use them betting on motorsport.

By Frank Monkhouse former professional boxer - I quite like the approach to boxing betting that Star Sports applies. In fact, there are just 4 methods available here: Maestro, MasterCard, Visa and Visa Electron.

Naturally, the times might differ, depending on the exact method you choose, but in most cases, it will be between 2 and 5 working days. As for other payment methods that players often find on betting sites and gambling sites in general, none are available. So, no common deposit and withdrawal options like Skrill and Neteller.

In fact, there are no e-wallets at all, but you can still use things like bank transfers and cheques, which are slower than the four debit cards we mentioned before.

Star Sports uses SSL encryption to keep all your financial and personal data safe and secure. This is a well known British regulatory body that only awards licences to the best betting sites and other gambling platforms. So, Star Sports having its licence can only mean that Star Sports is completely safe and legal for you to use.

All of these security measures and licences are usually enough to prove that the website offers stellar service and that all transactions are completely safe and assured. We also love the fact that Star Sports clearly cares about their customers, as they are quite big on responsible gaming and offer various resources that can help you out if you have problems with gambling addiction.

As we said earlier on, Star Sports started out in as Star Racing and eventually rebranded to Star Sports in Besides providing a convenient and comprehensive online betting service, this bookmaker also has a betting shop in Mayfair in London along with a couple of racecourse betting pitches.

Ben Keith is founder and owner of Star Sports and the online sportsbooks were only launched in From the moment the company acquired independent bookies Waldron, Vickers, Turner, and Kendrick, Star Sport really advanced in the sports betting industry.

The acquisition is an important moment in the existence of this firm, and it ensured the platform has all the options and services it boasts of today. We are mentioning this as this is, in fact, a separate site where you can learn about the latest news in the world of sports, be it local or global news.

Opening an account at Star Sports is quite easy, and the good thing is that you only need a single account for all of their services, be it sports betting, live casino, or something else.

All you need to do is visit the website and use the Sign Up button located in the top right corner of the screen. Then, you only need to follow the steps and enter all the information the site requires you to enter.

This information includes your name, email, address, date of birth, and more. Naturally, as the site falls under the auspices of the UKGC, it also means that the site has to follow the entire KYC know your customer procedure. This means that you will have to prove to the site that you are 18 years old.

Most of the procedure is automatic, as the website can see your age once you register a deposit method at the site and make your first deposit. While Star Sports online bookmaker and casino is brand-new, this is a brand that has been around for 2 decades and is going from strength to strength.

For horse racing and football fanatics, this is your go-to site, along with plenty of other options on offer. Aside from one or two issues, like no live chat support and only 4 deposit and withdrawal methods, this site provides plenty of action both on the sportsbook pages and at the online casino.

Sure, there could be more odds on sports and it would be nice to see more welcoming bonuses and promotions, but what you do get is a user-friendly and tidy interface, powerful data tracking features and plenty of value to be had. Star Sports allows for all major payment methods, including Mastercard, Visa, and Maestro debit cards.

The site used to accept credit cards as well, but as of April , they no longer accept credit cards for either deposits or withdrawals. The withdrawal times depend largely on the payment method you decide to use.

You can take a closer look at our Star Sports review to learn more about withdrawals, but you should know that the times will always vary on the method you use and how long it takes for the site to review your request. In most cases, most debit card transactions take anywhere between two and five days, plus the time it takes for Star Sports to check your request.

Star Sports is largely oriented towards the UK and Irish players, which is why the main currency used on the site is the Sterling.

However, the site also accepts euros as there are many Irish players registered at the site, as well as others coming from various EU countries. Yes, plenty of them! You can check some of the bonuses in our Star Sports review, but you can also take a look at the Promos page on Star Sports website.

Here, they list all the current promotions and bonuses, which even include a welcome bonus and some free bets as well. This is a real money gambling app.

Please gamble responsibly and only bet what you can afford. For gambling addiction help and support, please contact Gamble Aware at UK and Ireland or visit www. org UK and www. ie Ireland. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data.

Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age.