Even IBAS has no power settled this case. This is email from IBAS:
Dear Mr Leis,
I am emailing with regard to your IBAS submission received on the 24[SUP]th[/SUP] April 2019.
Bet365 have explained that your account will remain frozen while an investigation is taking place.
I am unable to divulge the nature of the investigation due to regulatory requirements, and can only inform you that they can take a very long time. It is possible that your account could be suspended for up to 2 years.
There is nothing that IBAS can do about this, we cannot force them to pay you whilst the investigation is ongoing. In the meantime, you are welcome to pursue alternative means of accessing the funds in your account, such as taking legal action against Bet365.
They have said they will contact you once the investigation is over, so there is little point in asking IBAS for updates, as you will find out more quickly than we will. You are much better off asking them directly.
I apologise for this bad news, but stress again that our hands are tied in this matter and there is nothing we can do to speed up the process.
Kind regards,
James Ironside
Case Manager
IBAS
When suspicious betting patterns or match fixing is reported, the legislation says the bookmaker is not allowed to tell you anything more than an investigation is under way. They are not supposed to divulge anything that could either help a match fixer learn how to do it better, or smear a player or team involved in the match.
If IBAS are saying this will take a long time. That means that ESSA or a sporting body have accepted that the evidence available warrants an investigation.
In my experience, if these do not end up being settled within a month or so, then they drag on at least 12 months.
12-15 months is the time frame most seem to be resolved in. But a few I know of have gone for 2 years.
Not many do not get resolved in the end.
In most cases, everyone gets paid in the end.