‘I feel like I deserve that money’: Woman wins $1.3 million in online betting only to be told days later that it was a ‘glitch’

A British woman has been left feeling sad and angry after winning a hefty sum on the online betting app William Hill, only to later be told that the money had been erroneously credited to her account due to a technical glitch. Claire Ainsley claims she won £1 million ($1.3 million) but was denied the money by the betting company.

Ainsley appeared on Good Morning Britain to explain to the show’s hosts what happened. The mom-of-two believed she had won the money in the Jackpot Drop game, subsequently emailing William Hill with screenshots and proof of identification to confirm her big win. She quickly received a response telling her that her winnings would be sent out within 72 hours.

Well those 72 hours came and went and no money appeared in her account. She tried to withdraw the money from the account herself but that was denied too.

The money would have been life changing to Claire

Ainsley told the show hosts that she was excited about receiving the money. She had planned to take her children on a nice holiday as well as buy a home so that her family would be set up nicely for the future. £1 million simply would have been life-changing for Claire as it would be for most people.

Winning such a huge sum of money is almost too good to be true and in Claire’s case that statement rings true. After the money failed to be deposited into her account her worst fears were realized when she received an email from William Hill with some very bad news.

The winnings were a ‘glitch’

According to the gambling company the £1 million that Claire Ainsley believed she was due was actually the result of a glitch with the Jackpot Drop game which meant that, unfortunately, she would not be receiving her winnings. William Hill told Good Morning Britain that it had “identified an issue affecting the Jackpot Drop game, which temporarily resulted in incorrect sums being credited.” 

Of course, that does little to console Ainsley, who believes she’s been conned, “I feel like I deserve that money,” she stated, “They said I could have it, so it’s my money.” Unfortunately there is not a lot that can be done about it as a lawyer explained that William Hill was protected by its terms and conditions. However, Ainsley wants proof that there was ever a glitch in the first place.

She’s not the only person to have been through this with online gambling platforms. Claire is part of a Facebook group containing people who experienced similar glitches. One 76-year-old man even claimed the stress of not being able to claim his £285,000, (roughly $385,000) winnings led to him having a heart attack.