The UK’s gambling regulator says it didn’t err by allowing online betting operator BetBright to void all pending wagers following the operator’s acquisition by rival 888 Holdings.

On Wednesday, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) issued a statement defending the stance it took in permitting BetBright to cease trading and void all outstanding wagers earlier this month. The operator delivered the bad news to its roughly 35k customers just 24 hours after 888 announced its £15m deal for Dedsert Ltd, which controls BetBright’s sports betting technology platform.

BetBright’s customers reacted angrily to the news that their pending wagers would be cancelled and their stakes returned to them, coming as it did just one week before the commencement of the annual Cheltenham Festival.

BetBright’s official FAQ on the issue said it was voiding “all single bets due to settle after 5 March at 23:59pm,” while unsettled accumulator/parlay bets with a winning leg or legs would be settled as winning wagers “with the remaining unsettled legs voided.”