An Australian bettor has sued sports betting firm BetEasy for refusing to pay the full amount won for a massive parlay placed on multiple horses in May 2018.
To date, the bookmaker has paid out just A$250,000, according to the bettor. BetEasy is an Australian-facing operator that is owned by gambling giant The Stars Group.
The bettor Renee Bell filed a suit in the Supreme Court that accused BetEasy of deceptive practices when the bookmaker accepted multi-bets worth A$500 that had a possible return of A$1,443,695.90 without cautioning her that their company policy had a maximum payout of A$250,000 for a multi-bet in a racing/sports or a combination of both.
In May 2018, Bell accurately chose multiple horses to win their respective races. She placed a A$100 five-leg all-up bet, which had a payout of A$1,260,748.80, as well as another four A$100 bets that had a payout of A$182,447.10.
BetEasy paid out A$250,000 to Bell, while returning her A$100 bet, and revoked four of her bets—she was refunded A$400.
BetEasy’s terms and conditions page clearly state that it is their customers’ duty to alter their bets in accordance to the stated limits. However, Bell’s lawyers argued that BetEasy had acted deceptively by accepting her bets without raising the issue, and warning her that the bets would be capped by a maximum payout.
According to the lawsuit, BetEasy accepted Bell’s stakes for each of her bets without comment, even inputting the bets in their records as potentially returning the full amount under question.
Bell is seeking the rest of her payout, which amounts to A$1,193,195.90, in addition to accrued interest and damages under the Consumer Law of Australia. Bell’s lawsuit states that the remaining payout is subject to interest because it is an unpaid debt.
BetEasy was previously known as CrownBet, which served as a sports betting brand for the Australian casino firm Crown Resorts. CrownBet absorbed William Hill’s Australian-facing operator in early 2018; The Stars Group bought a majority interest in CrownBet soon after, and rebranded it into BetEasy, which is now one of the leaders in the Australian online betting market.
The lawsuit comes at a monumental time for BetEasy’s owner – The Stars Group, which is in the middle of merger discussions with Ireland’s gambling behemoth Flutter Entertainment. The resulting Flutter-Stars Group tie-up has recently gained the approval of UK’s Competition and Markets Authority.
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