A woman expressed deep disappointment after being instructed to repay £33,000 she had seemingly won while playing an online casino game.
Gemma Bradley, one of the affected customers, was asked to return her winnings by William Hill due to a technical error that occurred on Monday, 16 March, leading to incorrect payouts to players.
The bookmaker is currently engaging with numerous customers regarding the inadvertent jackpot payouts that transpired during a 40-minute period on that morning, which they termed as ‘unintended jackpot behavior.’
Gemma, aged 47, had initially felt elated and had plans to settle her mortgage after believing she had won big on the Jackpot Drop game. She transferred £33,000 of her £47,182 winnings into her bank account, only to be contacted the next day by the company requesting the money back, citing a technical glitch.
Expressing her dismay, Gemma, now seeking help from gambling adjudicators, stated, “I’m absolutely devastated. I’ve been losing sleep over this. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since Monday.”
An Incident Report purportedly circulated by William Hill indicated a significant increase in jackpot “hits” during the malfunction, with 35,072 hits compared to 518 in a similar timeframe a week earlier.
Numerous players shared on social media how their winnings, reaching up to £200,000, vanished abruptly. Many narrated how they discovered their online betting accounts frozen just as they were celebrating their supposed wins.
Reports suggest that affected individuals have been presented with ‘settlement agreements,’ proposing they return 11% of the erroneously awarded winnings within three days, although several have opted to contest the issue.
Gemma and her 69-year-old mother, Ann, who reside together, were on the brink of easing their mortgage worries as they rejoiced on Monday over the winnings.
Reflecting on the situation, Gemma remarked, “We were overwhelmed with joy. I’m 42, and I thought I was on the verge of paying off my mortgage, allowing my mom to enjoy her retirement more.”
She promptly withdrew £33,000, the maximum limit for a debit card, with plans to withdraw the rest the next day. However, upon attempting to access her William Hill account, she found it inaccessible, and later received a call from a representative explaining the error and demanding the return of the £33,000.
Describing the incident, she said, “They informed me it was their mistake, so I had to repay the amount and would not be able to withdraw the remaining funds. Thankfully, I didn’t make any significant purchases. What if this happened to someone who had bought a car? I acted sensibly, but it did raise my hopes.”
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