A woman is devastated after being instructed to repay a £33,000 prize she thought she had won in an online casino game. Gemma Bradley, along with other players, was told by William Hill to return their winnings due to a technical glitch on March 16. The bookmaker is in discussions with numerous customers over the issue of ‘unintended jackpot behavior’ that led to incorrect payouts within a 40-minute window that morning.
Gemma, a 47-year-old care assistant from Yorkshire, was thrilled when she believed she had won £47,182 on the Jackpot Drop game, planning to use the money to pay off her mortgage. However, her excitement was short-lived as William Hill contacted her the next day demanding the return of the money, citing a technical error.
An incident report from William Hill revealed that there were 35,072 jackpot ‘hits’ during the malfunction, significantly higher than the previous week. Players shared on social media how their winnings, reaching up to £200,000, vanished, and their accounts were frozen unexpectedly.
The affected players have been offered settlement agreements by William Hill, suggesting they return 11% of the mistakenly awarded winnings within three days. Gemma, who had withdrawn £33,000 immediately, was devastated by the turn of events and is seeking help from gambling adjudicators.
William Hill’s terms state that they can withhold winnings in case of technical errors. Despite feeling it was not her fault, Gemma is willing to repay the money if necessary. The company acknowledged the issue with the Jackpot Drop game, contacting affected customers to rectify the error and arrange for fund returns according to their terms and conditions.
