“Clear and obvious error’ – Punter denied six-figure payment on winning bets

A customer who was set to secure a six-figure windfall thanks to 21 winning bets on massively inflated odds offered by an Australian bookmaker has been denied his payout after a regulator accepted that a material error had been made.

The punter was a customer of BoomBet and, in November 2023, placed 30 bets on National Football League matches, focusing on player touchdown markets.

While all wagers initially resulted in losses, upon contacting BoomBet, the customer was then told that 21 of those bets had actually been winners.

As a result, he would be credited $113,240 for his successful bets. But there was a hitch as his bets were then referred to the BoomBet trading team.

Instead of being paid out the winnings, the account was closed. The customer was then informed by email that the wagers had been cancelled due to what BoomBet said was a “clear and obvious error”.

The punter took the complaint to the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission, which accepted evidence from both the customer and the bookmaker.

BoomBet said that a system error had led to wildly inflated odds on NFL games, especially in individual player markets. It confirmed that had the correct odds been offered, then the customer would have received $1364 rather than $113,420.

It said it had offered the punter a 25 per cent premium on the revised amount and then upped the offer to $2500 to resolve the matter, but this was not accepted.

The punter, who had only opened their account on the day the bets were placed, opted to take their case to the Commission, which sided with the bookmaker.

It found that under BoomBet’s terms and conditions, it had the right to void or correct bets in the case of error, even after the conclusion of the event.

The Commission found that the errors in the odds offered were between 12 and 2800 times the comparative odds elsewhere, amounting to a material error.

”Given that the events in question had been completed at the time that the wagers were voided, the Commission considers that the preferable course would have been to adjust the wagers at the correct odds,” the ruling said.

“In this regard, the Commission notes that Boombet has confirmed that BoomBet has agreed to pay to the Complainant the amount that would have been payable had the odds been correct.”

The complaint was dismissed. In an unrelated matter, BoomBet closed down operations earlier this year.