A group of UK bookmakers are withholding payouts from a group of punters who are accused bonus abuse during the Cheltenham Festival.
The punters in question, not surprisingly, say they merely took advantage of some great value via standard bonus offers. They’ve taken their case to social media in hopes of getting their payday. They’ve also taken their case to gaming regulators on the Isle of Man, where the bookmakers in question (12bet, 138.com, Fun88 and TLCBet) are licensed.
Punters who thought they were going to cash in on wagers placed with the bookmaker, which are all run by TGP Holdings, received an e-mail from the company saying:
Following checks for bonus abuse and fraudulent activity, our fraud department has determined that your account is in breach of our terms and conditions, specifically clause 15.2 shown below…
‘15.2 In the event that we suspect that you or any other player is abusing or attempting to abuse a bonus or other promotion, or is likely to benefit through such abuse we may block, deny, suspend, withhold or cancel the account of any such player, including your account if we determine that you are involved in such.
‘Consequently, we have cancelled your winnings and will refund your deposit without any further delay. Once this is complete your account will be closed.
While that sort of language is pretty standard for any sportsbook’s T&C, it’s not something that players every expect to see enforced.
The aggrieved players, and some media outlets, say the bookmakers aren’t honoring their bonus deals simply because they lost too much on Cheltenham wagers. According a report in the Daily Mail, UK punters picked Cheltenham winners in record numbers and soaked UK bookmakers for more than £60million ($85 million USD).
Though representatives from TGP Holdings say their companies have done nothing wrong, don’t be surprised if this isn’t the last we hear of this story.