Hill agrees to pay out on 150-1 Rugby World Cup bet after ‘human error’
Bookmaker William Hill has agreed to pay out £1,500 winnings after “human error” saw a teenager given unusual odds on the Rugby World Cup.
Cameron Macgregor, 18, from Uphall, West Lothian, placed his bet in February, when he backed Japan to reach the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.
He was offered 150-1 odds – the same as the odds for Japan to win the competition in September.
And so a month later when the Brave Blossoms knocked Scotland out of the tournament, and booked themselves a place in the last eight, Mr Macgregor was one of the few Scots delighted with the result.
After that quarter-final clinching victory, Mr Macgregor and his mother Jill went to the shop to collect their winnings – only for the shop assistant to refuse to pay out.
Instead the family were told that they had been given the wrong odds when making the bet and were told the shop would only pay out on 20-1 odds, leaving Mr Macgregor £1,300 out of pocket and feeling ‘cheated’ on his bet.
“The shop assistant had written out the betting slip very clearly,“said Mrs Macgregor. “It was then authorised with date and time and handed to my son. Last Sunday, we cheered Scotland and Japan with divided loyalties and when Japan won my son was delighted.
“On Tuesday we handed over the slip and the assistant said she would have to phone her boss. We were then told the odds given were incorrect and they offered us 20-1.”
She said: “My son is not a gambler. He put a fun bet on the Rugby World Cup as he loves rugby.”
William Hill has now agreed to pay out on the bet, and a spokesman said: “We are paying out the bet in full and it was a human error on our part.”
On hearing the news, Mrs Macgregor said: “We are delighted. I get it was human error but it was their error, not ours, so the bet should have been honoured from the beginning.”
Her son plans yo buy a personalised number plate with his winnings.