The following stems from a personal experience, that I had the misfortune of experiencing. It is by no means intended to degrade, or damage the reputation of any bookmaker, or betting organization. The intention is merely to make punters aware of a legal clause that really caught me by surprise.
Earlier this year (2011), I place at Exacta bet at a bookie, paid in cash, received my ticket, and left the bookie establishment.
Later that afternoon/evening, I discovered that I had placed a winning bet, which paid just over R700.00 for one time, and since I had taken the bet twenty times, I was due to collect just over R14 000.00.
I returned to the bookie establishment, produced the ticket for payment, and was paid out accordingly. I tipped the person that placed my bet initially, deposited R2000.00 into my online betting account, and left with the rest of my winnings.
It was later, after I had spent the winnings, that I was contacted by the bookie establishment, and was informed that they had made a mistake. They claimed that although the bet paid just over R700.00 for one time, at the TAB, the bookie has a limit on their pools, and they were not supposed to pay out the full amount. It turns out that the person capturing the dividends on the bookie system, did not input the limit for the pool, and as a result, the system allowed full payment to be processed.
I was in the first instance shocked by this, but then informed them that the money had already been spent.
They have subsequently;
– Frozen my online betting account, and have taken the balance in the account (approx. R3000.00), and applied it towards the recovery of the money, which they now claim is my debt.
– Engaged attorney’s to recover the money from me.
I contacted the gambling board for assistance in the matter, but they were off no help, so I had to engage an attorney of my own to defend the matter.
As it turns out, they have every right to claim the money back, and to quote, “In law, you have been unjustifiable enriched (basically your wealth / assets have grown at the expense of ******, for which there was no acceptable reason for you to gain)”.
Punters need to be made aware that, even though they win money at the bookies, it might very well be taken back.
Simply put – When are punters allowed to spend their winnings?
I now have to add an additional account to my name, with the bookie’s attorney’s which I have to pay monthly, until it’s paid in full.
This is certainly an experience that I will not be forgetting in a hurry!
It seems that us punters are always at a disadvantage!
Via email – Dunraj
