South African Punter Battling Sports Betting Site for Winnings

An online sports betting fan from Durban is getting set to take on a legal battle against Netbet, operators of the gaming site, sportingbet Darren Ward is claiming a R5.84 million payout which he says is due to him. Netbet, on the other hand, insists that it is ready to pay him out only R1 million, the most that a player is allowed to win in a single day.

A Western Cape high court is being asked to make a decision on this case, and a ruling by Judge Siraj Desai is pending.

The story began in March 2014 when Ward signed up an account for sportingbet in a bid to make wagers on sports events and hopefully enjoy rewards. The site’s operator claims that upon registering with the site, Ward ticked that he had read the terms and conditions which specifically state that payouts may not exceed R1 million per day.

Over the next seven months, Ward placed over 500 bets on sports events and in October his persistence paid off. On two single R50 bets, the player hit the jackpot in a payout that should have been worth R5.4 million. After tax, he claims that Netbet owes him R5.1 million, as well as interest dating back to his win – all in all a total of R5.84 million.

The bets that Ward made were accumulator bets, which meant that he chose eight horse races and wagered R50 on the horses that would win all eight, and another R50 relating to their position in the races. To Ward’s delight, eight of his selected horses won their races and he was due over R5 million.

Unfortunately for the player, it was at this stage that he realized that he was only due R1 million due to the clause in the terms and conditions which he had signed.

He is now claiming in his dispute to the court that he was led to believe that he would be paid out the full amount. In response, Netbet said that Ward should have referred the issue to the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board first, before approaching the court, as is the correct procedure in these matters. The group said that it is clearly stated on the betting slip that “limits may be applicable” on winnings, and therefore Ward was aware that he might not receive the whole amount. An attorney speaking for Netbet said that some limits had to remain in place to ensure the solvency of betting operators.