Betika responds to gambler who threatened to sue over disputed winnings
Sports betting firm Betika responded to Mr Nelson Kipkogei Melly, one of their registered gamblers, regarding his claim of winning Sh 477,590 but the company refusing to award him hiw winnings.
In a response letter to Mr Melly’s lawyers, Betika confirmed that Mr Melly had indeed won Sh 477,590 after placing virtual bets on October 16, 2023 and he was paid his winnings which were credited to his Betika wallet.
However, it was his subsequent actions on the online betting platform after winning that Betika would focus on.
According to the betting firm, Mr Melly proceeded to select the auto-play feature, picked 20 rounds with a stake of Sh 20,000 per round on Aviator, and this amounted to a cumulative stake of Sh 400,000.
According to the firm, auto-play can only be activated by a customer who selects it, specifies the number of rounds they wish to play and how much they want to stake.
It also offers a stop loss feature to promote responsible gambling, allowing players to set limits for potential losses.
“At 9:01am, at the end of the autoplay round, your client withdrew Sh 70,000 and at 9:03, he withdrew an additional Sh 7,500 from his Betika wallet to his Mpesa account. From the foregoing, your client, being an avid punter, is well aware of the game mechanics including the auto play feature as evidenced by his game play. Furthermore, his withdrawal (of the monies) show your client was well aware of his account activity and account balance,” added Betika.
Betika proceeded to state their position that Mr Melly utilized all his winnings of Sh 477,500 as shown above and no winings were due to him. Apparently, this position was communicated to Mr Melly via phone call from their customer care on October 16, 2023, but he did not accept the situation.
“The company reserves its legal rights in this matter and any suit shall be strongly defended at your client’s risk of costs and other incidentals arising therefrom,” concluded Betika.
This is not the first time the betting firm finds itself embroiled in lawsuits regarding bet winnings. In August 2023, Mr David Juma won a case in which Betika was ordered to give him his Sh 500,000 jackpot winnings. According to prior Nation.Africa reports, Betika claimed Mr Juma had predicted seven out of eight matches and so, could not be awarded the winnings.
However, Mr Juma was able to prove that he indeed predicted eight correct matches in February 2023. Betika was also ordered to pay the costs of the suit as well as interests arising from the date the jackpot was to be paid.
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