A punter wins £1,000 off a 40/1 bet he placed earlier in the 2021/22 season, but the bookies are REFUSING to pay out because of a ‘mistake’.
Granddad Phil Worthington, a retired electrician, was denied the betting win after placing £25 on Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea to make up the top three of last season’s Premier League, as well as picking Norwich, Watford and Burnley to be relegated.
As we know, this is exactly what happened, but he hasn’t been given any winnings because the bet was allowed to be placed ‘by mistake’, according to Coral.
Phil, from Stockport, placed the bet in January, when Newcastle United were languishing in the relegation zone, only to go on a turn their form around thanks to the appointment of Eddie Howe, and was offered odds of 40/1.
Phil Worthington with his Coral betting slip. Credit: MEN Media
Now, after the bookies refused to pay out, Phil is threatening formal action through a small claims court against the bookmaker.
The 72-year-old told the Manchester Evening News: “I like a bet on a Saturday morning. I saw a tip in a national newspaper on January 15th this year for what they called ‘a monster’ of a bet with Coral at 40/1 odds for the top three and relegation three in the Premier League.
“I went to the bookies later that day and said I would like to do the bet.
“I showed the newspaper to the manager in the shop.
“He said he would have to check first, and I waited about 20 minutes while he did.
“He said yes I could place a bet of £25.
“I then asked him to sign my betting slip which he did.
“When I went back to collect my winnings I was told the bet was ‘a mistake’. They offered me odds of 2/1 which would have meant £50 but I refused.
“I have been back to the shop three times since but they will not pay out the full winnings.”
He continued: “How can they pick and choose when they will pay out?
“It is unbelievable.
“Coral are making millions, and morally they should pay up.
“After I placed this bet I had other bets at Coral – they were happy to take the money off me.
“I am thinking of paying more money to lodge a claim against Coral in the small claims court.
“It is a matter of principle. How many others have lost out after winning on this bet?”
In a statement, Coral said: “The information printed in The Sun editorial section on this particular special bet was incomplete and therefore inaccurate, due to a mistake made when transmitting that information to The Sun.
“The 40/1 special price we were offering at that time was for Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to finish 1-2-3-4 in that order and for Burnley, Watford and Norwich to finish 18-19-20 in that order.
“The Sun copy didn’t specify the fact that it was to finish in the correct order but, even more importantly, left off Arsenal for the top four correct finishing order, rendering it a significantly more likely outcome at that stage and therefore a significantly shorter price to occur.”
“We have never offered a price in our system on any special bet for Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea to finish top three and for Burnley, Watford and Norwich to finish bottom three in any order.
“So to settle the customer’s bet we have calculated the price we believe that eventuality would have been at the time in an attempt to settle the bet fairly.
“The actual 40/1 special bet we were offering was a loser in the end as Arsenal did not finish 4th. If a customer is unhappy with the way a bet has been settled in these circumstances they can seek independent advice from IBAS should they wish to.”
Responding to the allegations made by Coral, The Sun said: “Coral gave us the odds by email direct and without specifying the order.
“Furthermore they took the bet as it stood and so it is their legal issue and not ours.”
Twitter users had their say after seeing the punter wins £1,000 off a 40/1 bet but bookies are REFUSING to pay out because of the ‘mistake’…
@kevp88: Not surprised. Bookies hate to pay out @THEREALBORO
@SpursManDan: Take them to arbitration. Is free and got me my money.
@THEREALBORO: Gotta go to arbitrator, this happens so often, some people don’t know own rights. He should definitely be paid out though
@UtdBrunoJr: Why does he look like he has bankrupted Man Utd
@Daz_P_K_: They took his money for the bet, so they should pay out.
@Iyatealldapies:
“They offered me odds of 2/1 which would have meant £50 but I refused.”
2/1 for predicting the top 3 and the bottom 3 in the pl, in order. 🤣🤣🤣
40/1 for that still isn’t great, but 2/1 is fucking offensive.
They have to be pay out if the bet on the slip won. Simple as that
@123rob: That’s why betting is a mugs game.
@alandocAVFC83: They took the bet so pay up…they haven’t a leg to stand on ffs
@Chris9Thompson: £1,000 for Coral is nowt. The PR alone is more damaging. Just pay the fella and he’ll be on his way.
@ramboacdcuk: Just send it IBAS . If you lose there you have lost. https://ibas-uk.com
@scotthastings92: Wouldn’t have told him if the bet had lost – absolute filth
@ChrissyKDJ: There’s a shock….@Coral refusing to pay out a bet! My family knows this only too well and not surprised nothings changed. Crooks
@cockney_yid: @Coral are a bunch of wankers, pay the geezer his money. Bookies never like paying out, they’re all the same, robbing bastards!!
@KevC12929993: Whats a £1000 to @Coral… Absolutely nothing, now trying to worm their way out of it…. Your employee in your shop agreed and signed, pay up @CoralHelp…. Not good publicity
@homerj72: @Coral you took the bet. If you do not pay this breaches all the rules of gambling and you should have your licence revoked.
@evertonianfenny: Piss poor this by @Coral. The response they recalculated it and it only came to 2/1 is a load of shit also.
@TruckerTimmy75: Quelle surprise – a shite high street bookie refusing to pay on a bet that they themselves accepted to take. Pay up @Coral
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