A judge from Igualada (Barcelona) is investigating the online sports betting house Betway for canceling a prize of 1.3 million euros that was won last November by a player who had correctly guessed the results of 18 matches, alleging that the website had suffered a breakdown.
The investigating court number 4 of Igualada has opened proceedings, following a report prepared by the Scams and Payment Methods Unit of the Mossos d’Esquadra, to whom the player filed a complaint after Betway informed him that he had voided your winning bets.
In their report, to which EFE has had access, the Mossos conclude that there are indications that the company Betway Spain S.A. “may have acted maliciously” by not paying the prizes to the complainant “and has computerized the status of those bets, transforming the result from ‘won’ to ‘cancelled’.”
After the first investigations, the Mossos d’Esquadra transferred the case to the Igualada court, which opened proceedings last January, although it is possible that the investigator will agree to refer the case to the competent judicial authority in Ceuta, where Betway has its Spanish headquarters.
According to the proceedings carried out by the Mossos, to which EFE has had access, the complainant, Billal Agdi, represented by lawyer Alex Zaragüeta, reported that on November 4 he had carried out a combined bet on 18 matches in the platform, which was awarded more than 1.3 million euros.
The man, who reported the events on November 28, supposedly followed the results of the matches, observed that he had gotten them all right and, when the last one ended, he saw how an amount of more than 1 .3 million euros, so he took a screenshot to break the news to his loved ones via WhatsApp.
However, when Agdi looked at his account again he found that the amount entered had disappeared, and in the betting history he verified that the bet awarded with more than one million euros was recorded as cancelled, so he decided to contact the company, without obtaining a response, according to the complaint.
In addition, that same day he placed other sports bets, one of which, awarded 11,222.98 euros, was also cancelled.
Regarding the latter, the complainant requested to transfer 10,000 euros of that money to his bank account, and leave the rest in Betway as credit to continue betting, and although he received a message confirming the movement, he never collected this amount.
On the other hand, the complainant did collect other bets placed on the same day, significantly lower than those voided.
Among the evidence that Agdi provided to the Catalan police, there are several screenshots taken with the mobile phone, where you can see a balance of more than 1.3 million euros, which coincides with the sum of the highest prize and the rest other bets. earned.
Although the Mossos d’Esquadra sent police letters to two Betway email addresses on December 11, it was not until more than a month later, on January 22, that the company responded to the Catalan body’s request.
The company Betway – which EFE has tried to contact, without receiving a response – told the Mossos d’Esquadra that its website suffered a breakdown “which caused various online betting products to be displayed on the server with a fee incorrect line or handicap”.
According to the company, this circumstance allowed “many players to access incorrect prices and place bets out of time and on erroneous results and even those that were known in advance”, a situation that forced Betway “to temporarily suspend part of its services.” of game”.
Faced with this situation, the sports betting firm stated that it adjusted the account “of the players who were able to place said bets to reflect the true result and rectify the error,” so those affected recovered the amounts bet and the winnings were canceled “unduly.” accumulated”, according to the reports in the case.
The company also indicated that on November 4 they responded to Agdi “acknowledging receipt of his email and referring him to the help page with Frequently Asked Questions,” and that since then he has not contacted him again, but it was his lawyer who in December He told them that they had been reported to the Mossos.
As a consequence of the facts investigated, the complainant has stated, in statements to EFE, that he hopes “that justice is done”, since throughout these months he has felt feelings of “depression”, while at the same time he has reiterated that he won cleanly that money.
