Court orders repayment of R13m linked to online game glitch

The Pietermaritzburg High Court ordered approximately 104 individuals and banks to repay over R13 million in winnings after exploiting a flaw in an online betting game operated by betting company Hollywood Sportsbook KwaZulu-Natal in December 2023.

Betgames Instant Lucky 7 did not deduct money from players’ accounts when they placed their bets.

As a result, users could gamble without any financial risk, placing bets without paying, yet still receiving payouts when they won.

This flaw was traced back to an error by one of Hollywood Sportsbook’s outsourced game developers. The company ultimately removed the game after its monitoring systems detected unusually high winnings.

In just over a week, players amassed winnings exceeding R13 million.

In one instance cited by the judge, a player placed around 40 bets and withdrewR443,700 to a personal bank account.

According to the judge, the respondents were aware of the flaw and deliberately took advantage of it. “The respondents must have noticed the weakness in the impugned game, and they exploited it."

When Hollywood Sportsbook later contacted the individuals requesting the return of the funds, almost all respondents refused, insisting the company would have to initiate legal action to recover the money.

The respondents allegedly froze their bank accounts and submitted basic affidavits, differing only in how much they won, their account balances, and how long they played the game. In the ruling, the judge stated that the punters did not respond to all of Hollywood Sportsbook’s allegations.

These affidavits denied any wrongdoing and claimed that freezing their accounts caused financial harm, including missed debit orders and unfavourable credit ratings. The punters argued they should not be required to return the money.

While the court dismissed Hollywood Sportsbook’s fraud allegations and stated that the account freezes were inappropriate, it ultimately ruled in favour of the company. The court held that the wagers placed during the period of the flaw were invalid, and therefore the winnings had to be returned.

“I accordingly find that the wagers placed by the respondents through the impugned game were not valid. It must follow, therefore, that the respondents were not entitled to the winnings that they received from the impugned game and that they must be returned to the applicant,” the judge concluded.