'It's morally wrong' - bookmaker slams punter for pocketing payout ten times the correct amount owed at York on Saturday

Bookmaker Geoff Banks said a staff member of his is “crushed” after accidentally paying out ten times what was due on a winning bet at York, and criticised the punter for not returning the overpaid amount.

Banks, who was betting on-course during the Ebor festival, has filed a police report in a hope of retrieving the cash, adding that the incident, and the online reaction to it, summarises what he felt was a breakdown in the old bookmaker-punter relationship.

According to Banks, the bookmaker had laid a cash customer £100 on Tropical Storm at 11-4 in the Listed Julia Graves Roses Stakes on Saturday. This was in addition to laying a £1,000 cash bet at the same price on the same horse. Tropical Storm won the 5f contest by a neck as the 5-2 favourite.

Banks said: “According to my staff member, when the guy who had £100 on came up to get paid he said something about being paid out £3,750. He said it in a way that suggested he had knowledge that there was a bet that had been placed at that level; whether he was just in front or behind the other person when they made the bet I don’t know.

“Even though we scan the slips, it was a mistake that was made. My member of staff is as honest as the day is long and he’s been crushed by this as he has been in the industry for years. The most galling thing about it is [the punter] just accepted the money and legally that’s wrong. If you know you have been paid out the wrong amount you have to return it. But more than that, it’s morally wrong.”

Banks posted about the incident on social media and said he was disappointed that much of the reaction had been negative.

He said: “I understand that there’s antipathy towards gambling companies from punters and that people may see me posting about gambling issues and not like it and find this amusing. It’s not the same battle between the old enemies that it used to be. 

“The betting public expects bookmakers to play fair and we expect the same, and then someone goes and does this; I think it’s abhorrent. People seem to think that it’s something to make fun of or that we deserve it, but they haven’t considered the impact this has had on my staff member and on how the relationship should be between a bookmaker and a punter. That fairness seems to have gone, and that’s a great shame.”

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