Oldborough Retreat house competition draw to go ahead - finally!

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May
06
2009

Oldborough Retreat house competition draw to go ahead - finally!

Keywords: Devon Property, Win a Property, Gambling Commission
The Oldborough Retreat 'win a house' competition will finally proceed to its widely-anticipated draw to pick a winner, after literally months of waiting and speculation from all sides. Despite selling all tickets two months early in mid-September last year, the couple running the competition, were forced to postpone the draw picking the winner for the £1m Devon property with fishing at the final hour due to concerns expressed by the UK's Gambling Commission about the legality of their house competition.

Ever since the draw was halted last year, Brian and Wendy Wilshaw have been forced to wait patiently for their discussions with the Gambling Commission to unfold. With a rising number of players complaining about the delay, the couple posted regular updates on their Myspace blog and website to reassure them that they were working hard to find a solution.

As time passed, speculation mounted that the couple may not be able to find a solution to their problem. Questions arose about the possibility of having to refund all entries to players and place the property back on the market - both being very costly options for the organisers of the competition. Justifiably, many players became impatient and worried about their monies, particularly after reading reports of PayPal locking funds in accounts related to other house competitions.

A few minutes ago, Beverly Rockliffe, organiser of the Dream Home in the Sun house competition in Spain, reported to us that the Wilshaws had just posted a new comment on their Myspace blog indicating that "plans are now underway to organise the draw to take place in the next couple of weeks. (Date to follow)". The Wilshaw family adds that "Having considered all the correspondence between the Barrister, our solicitor and ourselves, the Gambling Commission have now deemed the matter closed."

While this doesn't yet help clarify the Gambling Commission's position vis-à-vis this type of house competition, we hope the much-anticipated resolution of this situation will allow the Wilshaws to finally move on with their lives. It will also provide a life-changing opportunity for one person to win their beautiful Devon home.

What do you think? Could this issue have been resolved sooner under different conditions? Do you expect this will provide more clarity to this sector, or does it still leave important questions unanswered in your view? If you're running your own house competition or thinking of entering one as a player, we would be interested in your views!

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Comments & Opinions

8 comments so far, what say you? Subscribe to this comment's feed

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0
I can't believe it!
Finally!!! What a long wait, I'm delighted for the wilshaws, I feel really sorry for them for having waited for so long. They deserve the champagne in my view they were made scapegoats and it's only fair they should be treated with a bit more leniency as they're not some big company or scamming anyone. Great news!
Jimmy , 06 May 2009
0
So excited!
I had completely lost faith in this competition, now I'm all excited could be a chance I could actually win my dream home!!! crossing fingers and legs and toes :)
Anna , 06 May 2009
0
Still some questions...
It's great that they finally found a solution. But I'm not sure what it means for others who ran similar competitions that also had to cancel it before the end? Also not sure if it means that I can run a simple question-based quiz like this and get away with it? I hope the GC finally clarify things a bit better
Brian , 06 May 2009
0
Paypal?
what about paypal will they release the money so the wilshaws can give away the house, thought funds were locked or something?! maybe it's been going on for so long now they're fine with it or somthing..
Ed , 06 May 2009
0
what a result!!
amazing result well done Brian and Wendy good luck to you
Murad , 06 May 2009
0
what a prize!
that's a dream for anyone isn't it?! I bet most players forgot about this or just assumed the money was lost, now it's going to change someone's life!

I'm so pleased for the wilshaws, obviously good people well done :)
Caroline Munks , 06 May 2009
0
Congratulations......
At last someone has been reasonable the Wilshaws have suffered enough for been adventurous and hard working. I wish them the very best in their futures, Now every other Winahouse, Pickahouse and dreamhouse competition has a chance of completion people will finally have FAITH
Eamon , 08 May 2009
0
Re: Congratulations
yes good news - draw apparently took place on the 19th May.. winner still to be announced. I blogged on it earlier today here.... http://blog.southernpropertyfinder.com/
Chris , 21 May 2009

busy