BetEasy hit with $1.2m lawsuit over mega multi win

Online bookmaker BetEasy.com.au is facing legal action for refusing to pay out the full amount of a multi bet worth more than $1.4 million.

In May 2018, Renee Bell placed five $100 multis featuring the horses Jaminzah ($16), Marcel From Madrid ($9), Miss Iano ($9.50) and Praguemastist ($4.80) as well as West Coast ($1.92) to beat Richmond in Round 9 of the AFL Premiership.

All four horses got up and the Eagles won by 47 points for a total return of $1,443,695.90, but BetEasy paid Bell only $250,000 on the grounds that the full amount exceeded its maximum payout limit.

The bookie’s terms and conditions state that “the maximum payout for a multi-bet for a racing/sports or a combination of both is $250,000”.

According to Bell, however, BetEasy should never have accepted the wagers if it did not intend to pay out the full amounts shown on her online betting slips.

In papers filed with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Bell’s lawyers claimed that BetEasy gave no warning that any such payout limit existed.

“To the contrary, [BetEasy] accepted the full amount of the plaintiff’s stake for each bet without any deduction or limitation and recorded the plaintiff’s bet as returning the full amount of potential winnings,” the claim reads.

“[BetEasy] ought to have paid out to the plaintiff the amount of $1,443,695.90 in respect of the bets, but only paid the amount of $250,000, and the plaintiff claims the difference of $1,193,195.90 as a debt.”