The Age
THE former head of giant online bookmaking business Canbet, Michael Tomeny, is suing his old company for defamation over an announcement it issued just prior to him launching his own gambling website.
Tomeny was Canbet's executive director from February 2000 until April 2003. He later established an internet gambling business called Mansion, in the British colony of Gibraltar, which launched in September last year.
He is suing Canbet and International All Sports over the contents of an update of the merger between the two groups emailed to customers in August 2004.
In documents lodged with the Supreme Court of Victoria, Tomeny claims the document suggests he was responsible for poor performance and business practices at Canbet, that he failed as a manager and that he performed so poorly Canbet removed him.
But Tomeny says he left because he believed Canbet should be based in Britain in the face of increasing legislative hostility to online gambling in Australia. He also claims the company was in good shape when he departed. International All Sports chief executive Robert Edge said the company intended to defend the allegations.
