A BOOKIE refused to pay out £11,000 to a punter after a seven-race bet came in – because there was a line printed on the betting slip.
Ryan Clark placed a £1 accumulator bet on seven horses at races in Wolverhampton, Plumpton and Kempton Park. They all won, netting him a bumper return of £11,261.
But when he went to collect his winnings at Coral in Kilmarnock, the bookies refused to pay up – and offered him just £116.
Coral claim a black line which appeared on the printed betting slip gave them the right to split his wager into a 50p treble and a 50p fourfold bet – earning him substantially smaller winnings.
Ryan's receipt and betting slipRyan's receipt and betting slip
But Ryan says his receipt should have entitled him to the big payout.
Dad-of-one Ryan, 37, spent £150 celebrating the “win”. The water company worker also took a week off and believed he could afford to splash out at Christmas.
He also spent £400 in “cover” bets on the last race of his accumulator, protecting himself against all eventualities.
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.
“There was a line drawn on the betting slip before I even picked it up. That can happen and it was clarified at the time of the bet.
“They didn’t mention trebles, fourfolds or 50p bets. It’s a rip-off.
“They generated the receipt from the till and handed it to me. The manager also said head office were aware of the bet.
“After the fifth horse won, I asked what my winnings stood at. They said it was more than £5000.
“Coral were aware of their liability all along but, in the end, didn’t want to cough up.
“It’s a disgrace and I want them to pay the full amount. I’ve had a run of bad luck recently and I’m totally skint.”
Last night, a Coral spokesman said: “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.”
