UPDATE: BetMGM has since been in contact with Benton and agreed to pay out the full amount.
A sports bettor located in Fairfax County, Virginia has claimed that BetMGM cancelled his winning bets due to an alleged “obvious error with odds”.
Kris Benton placed wagers totaling $3,000 on the Netherlands vs. Vietnam match in the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday August 1st. The bets were placed through the BetMGM mobile app and consisted of three separate single game parlays. The odds at the time the bets were placed were 66 to 1. Benton’s bets won.
The Netherlands won the match 7-0, with all three of Benton’s bets winning. The BetMGM app informed him that he had won $214,500
Following his win, Benton began a withdrawal for $100,000 which is the maximum amount allowed in a single withdrawal. However, while he received an email from BetMGM confirming the withdrawal, a few hours later the bets were listed as cancelled in his account. His withdrawal was then canceled and his stake was refunded into his account.
Benton later received an email from the BetMGM online gaming operations team which stated that the company “sincerely apologize for the inconvenience” and that there was an obvious error as the odds were clearly incorrect.
The email stated:
“There was an issue that caused the corners market to have inflated the odds, but they were not supposed to be offered at that price. Therefore, we are not able to find out what the correct odds would have been, that is why the wager was voided.”
Speaking to WUSA9, Benton said:
“This was going to be a life-changing moment for us, and then in an instant, it was all taken away without any notification whatsoever. I was completely devastated. My wife and I had already started discussing what we were going to do with the money.
They said because of their mistake they can do whatever they wanted to do with my account balance and on top of that, the mistake they claimed happened, they can’t back that up with any evidence.”
BetMGM PR Coordinator Nick Lovera said the company would not comment on the incident but that BetMGM clearly acted within its rights according to its terms and conditions
Benton added that BetMGM offered a $100 bonus bet due to the inconvenience.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.