Image credit: Ellis Hyde
Salford Red Devils supporters are rallying behind two men after William Hill has refused to payout £23,400 in winnings, citing ‘human error’.
Kris Shenton and Gary Smeaton placed two bets at their local William Hill branch back in January, and thought almost nothing of it until later this year when the Red Devils were on a winning streak.
The bets they placed were 8/1 for the Red Devils to enter the top 5 of the Super League, and Red Devils’ half-back Jackson Hastings to win the Super League’s Man of Steel award at 25/1. But, the two friends entered their bets as a double accumulator, which multiples the odds of each bet by one another, increasing their winnings by over 1400 percent.
However, William Hill have contested their win by stating the bet should have never been taken by the Swinton branch because of ‘related contingency’, which is when one part of an accumulated bet effects the overall outcome. In this instance, William Hill claim that there is a causation between Salford Red Devils finishing in the top five and Jackson Hasting’s Man of Steel win.
Therefore, due to the human error the bet should have never been taken by William Hill.
Gary Smeaton, the company director of Arlec Property Services who in fact sponsors the Red Devils team, told us: “We expected a nice cheque going into our account of £23,400, and instead they were prepared to offer us £1,700, and that’s just not happening.
“I’m not going to let this drop, even if I’ve got to stand out there with banners to say don’t go into the shop and stop people going into the shop, then I will.”
The two men had planned to use the money for a Caribbean cruise for them and their wives to celebrate Gary’s upcoming 50th Birthday.
After sharing their saga with William Hill on social media, passionate Red Devils have spoke out, with many calling for fellow Super League and Salford Red Devil fans to boycott William Hill for their refusal to payout Gary and Kris’ winnings.
@WilliamHill absolutely disgraceful behaviour, pay up to the two lads from Salford.
Everyone should boycott your shops— gary beckett (@garbec54) October 10, 2019
@WilliamHill boycott William Hill till they meet their commitment. They can afford it! Backing out of a bet is shame full. #Shameful #boycottwilliamhill won’t make a dent in profits. Money grabbing bookies! #salfordreddevils pic.twitter.com/9qAxJ1qR2Z
— Bikeboyslim (@Bikeboyslim) October 12, 2019
I think a boycott of @WilliamHill is definitely in order until they do the decent thing. They took the bet in good faith so they should honour it. If it didn’t come in they would not have refunded the bet as a void bet would they? Disgraceful attitude by the bookies!
— Garry Jenkins (@garrykjenkins) October 9, 2019
Even on Saturday, as Salford’s Red Devils took on St Helens in the Super League grand final, Gary said: “I went to the pub before the game, people were coming up to me saying ‘have they paid out that bet yet?’
“I’ve even done my own poll and it’s just come out that literally everybody is telling us that there’s no reason why they’re not paying out.”
After going through this ordeal, and with a long wait still to come as Gary and Kris wait for IBAS (Independent Betting Adjudication Service) ruling, Gary’s message towards the company was clear: “I would never walk into a William Hill again, that is a certainty.”
We contacted William Hill for comment, but have not received any response at time of publishing.
Recent Comments