Big winner loses out in court case

ALWAYS read the fine print carefully.

Darren Ward did not when he placed online horse racing bets and expected to gallop into the sunset with millions after hitting the jackpot.

Lady luck was on his side when he placed several bets in October 2014.

He correctly chose eight winning horses in eight different races run at two different venues on the same day.

His betting slip reflected a “total possible payment” of R4.8-million.

But unknown to him at the time‚ there were terms and conditions applicable to Sportingbet‚ an online sports betting site‚ that effectively restricted punters to winning R1-million.

Sportingbet maintained they were not liable to pay the balance of the money when he took them to court, as their terms and conditions clearly stipulated a single winner could only pocket R1-million in a single day.

Cape Town High Court Judge Siraj Desai ruled on Monday that when Ward had opened an online betting account he had to tick the standard terms and the conditions before placing bets.

One of these read‚ “The maximum amount that can be won by one customer in one day’s betting‚ regardless of stake‚ is R1 000 000.00 or its equivalent in an accepted currency.”

The judge said: “He says he did not read the terms. However‚ he does not dispute that the words ‘please note limits may be applicable on your winnings’ were displayed on the bottom of the betting slip.”

Desai said since Ward opened his account with Sportingbet‚ he had placed at least 530 bets on the website and each time he had the opportunity to go through the payment terms but he had failed to do so.

“Directly below the amount stated [on possible winnings]‚ the warning appears that limits are applicable on winnings‚” Desai said.