A man living in London, England placed a "Christmas" bet with a nationwide professional bookmaker by the name of Ladbrokes (gambling is legal in U.K.). The man bet that 24 towns across Northern England would be having a white Christmas. Since I lived in Las Vegas for a few years in the past, I can see what the man was trying to do. The odds were stacked against him on this bet and I'm sure he wasn't very confident that he would win but betting a small amount of money to win BIG money is no different than buying a lottery ticket. Well, luckily for him the bet "hit" and the man won over $11 million dollars, but of course when that much money is involved things have a certain way of becoming complicated. The bookmaker Ladbrokes informed the man that they were NOT honoring the bet due to the fact the bet was accepted by mistake. This was not their policy and here's what a Ladbrokes spokesman had to say, "We have apologized to the customer for any confusion and for mistakenly accepting an accumulator bet when our own rules state that only single bets are available on a market of this nature." Ladbrokes also stated that they were more than willing to pay the man the single bets he won, unfortunately those winnings would only total hundreds of dollars instead of millions. The man stated he was going to seek legal action while Ladbrokes is offering a mediator to try to solve this dispute.

 First, I totally agree with this man hiring a lawyer! This is down-right CRIMINAL! The man has a valid "ticket' stating what he bet on and how much he would win, and when he received that ticket, the transaction/bet is validated. Also, don't give me any CRAP on how the bookmaker has the right to refuse any winnings based on an error or mistake. this is about credibility and if they want to stay in business much longer they need to immediately resolve this problem. This is a total outrage and I feel bad for the man thinking he won a SHIT-LOAD of money only to find out that he has not. Very sad!

 Second, this is why this country (America) should utilize the most credible bookmaking organization on the planet... the Vegas casinos! Legalize on-line gambling (especially the sportsbooks) from Vegas and watch the revenue streams pour in from all over the world. Keep track of records so all taxes can be paid, I'm thinking have a credit card or debit card from the casino of your choice that have set limits ($500-$1000) and that taxes are taken out of all winnings automatically. I'm sure Las Vegas would love nothing more than to be the on-line gambling MECCA of the world! Furthermore, I'm sure "Uncle Sam" would like the new tax revenue!

 

source: reuters