Bookmaker reverses $53,585 windfall and regulator denies claim

A punter’s joy at being credited $53,585 for a 13-leg baseball multi proved short-lived as the bookmaker reversed the payment before attempts to secure compensation for the system error were rebuffed by the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission.

The customer’s complaint over the conduct of bet365 reached the NTRWC last month, but the request for $50,000 compensation for the customer’s troubles was denied as the regulator found bet365 acted in accordance with its terms and conditions in reversing the erroneous settlement.

The Commission determined that the customer had placed a seven-leg single seven-fold multi bet for a stake of $20 on May 18, 2025, on seven different Major League Baseball matches.

The bet took in same-game multis in six of the seven matches, meaning there were 3 legs of the bet required to succeed. Three of those legs failed.

However, an error in processing the bet saw the $20 stake applied to all 1716 possible combinations rather than to a single seven-fold multi-wager.

As a result, the customer was initially paid out $53,585.20. When bet365 became aware of the error, the wager was corrected, and the winnings were removed from the customer’s account.

Upon being advised of an error, the customer was offered $400 in bonus bets, which was later updated to $400 in withdrawable cash.

But he opted to take the issue to the NTRWC and sought $50,000 in compensation for bet365’s mistake, as a “fair settlement of the loss of winnings and the platform’s admitted mistake”.

Bet365 argued that had the initial bet been correctly processed, it would have cost the customer $34,320.

It also argued that the customer could not claim they wanted a total cost of $20 for the bet as it would not have been possible to validly place a wager across 1,716 combinations with a stake of $20.  

The bookmaker successfully defended its actions.

“The Commission is satisfied that there was a clear technical error by bet365 in the initial calculation and settlement of the wager, and that bet365 is therefore entitled to correct the error in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined above,” it said.

“Bet365’s terms and conditions expressly permit the correction of settlement errors and the retrospective reversal of funds credited in error. These provisions do not require advance notice before corrections.

“Accordingly, the Commission has determined that bet365 acted in accordance with its terms and conditions in reversing the erroneous settlement and has not acted in breach of the Act.”

The bet365 customer does have the right to appeal the decision to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal.