Ms Sue Rossiter:

The rule of thumb is that they stand for six months. However, any decent bookmaker would pay out on dockets older than that. The percentage of uncollected winnings is small. I had betting shops for 17 years and used to do my own auditing and so on. The bulk of uncollected winnings relate to errors by staff in translation. For example, when a person places a bet in a betting shop a photograph of the slip is taken and the customer is given a copy of it. The staff member then inputs the information into a computer. There could be up to ten horses on a docket. Often when staff are busy they make errors when inputting information. The majority of outstanding pay-outs relate to errors. As chairperson of the association I receive letters from people in England who had attended the Listowel races and are seeking payment from bookmakers on dockets. The percentage of uncollected winnings is tiny.