Bookie Refuses to Pay Out £11k winnings
UK bookie Coral in Kilmarnock is refusing to pay out on a £11k bet, claiming there was a flaw in the betting slip.
Ryan Clark placed a £1 accumulator bet on seven horses at races in Wolverhampton, Plumpton and Kempton Park, all of whom won.
Coral claims that a black line printed on the slip gave them the right to split his wager into a 50p treble and a 50p fourfold that resulted in substantially lower winnings, in this case he was handed £116.
Ryan, who spent £150 celebrating the “win” prior to turning in his ticket, insists that the receipt should have entitled him to the big payout.
He said: “I’m devastated. I lodged a fair bet and the bookies knew what it was from the outset.
“I wrote the seven horses’ names down and ‘£1’ at the side of the slip. The cashier asked if it was intended as an accumulator and I said it was.
“It went into their system as a sevenfold from the outset. I know this because after the last horse won, I asked for a receipt to show what I would be paid.
“It said it was a £1 accumulator which would pay out £11,000.”
A Coral spokesperson told the Daily Record: “We’ve looked into this and the most important aspect is that seven selections were written on the betting slip but there were no instructions as to what type of bet the customer wanted.
“There was also a line drawn between the first four selections and next three, which indicates these are separate bets.
“Given the information the customer provided, the decision to settle the bet as a 50p fourfold and a 50p treble is the fairest under the circumstances.
“There is no way – given the line drawn between the top four selections and the bottom three – that the bet could be considered a sevenfold accumulator, regardless of the fact that all seven won. We can only settle bets on the basis of what is written on the betting slip, not on what a customer claims he intended after all the selections have run, and won.
“If the customer is unhappy with the way we have settled the bet, he can take the dispute to the Independent Betting Adjudication Service and we will abide by their verdict on the matter.”
- Alistair Prescott, Gambling911.com
