In response to Mr. Nelson Kipkogei Melly’s claim of winning Sh 477,590 but being denied his winnings by sports betting firm Betika, the company has issued a response.
In a letter to Mr. Melly’s lawyers, Betika confirmed that he had won Sh 477,590 through virtual bets placed on October 16, 2023, and the winnings were duly credited to his Betika wallet.
However, Betika highlighted Mr. Melly’s subsequent actions on their online platform after his win.
According to the betting firm, Mr. Melly opted for the auto-play feature, selecting 20 rounds with a stake of Sh 20,000 per round on Aviator, totaling a cumulative stake of Sh 400,000.
Betika explained that the auto-play feature can only be activated by a customer who selects it, specifying the number of rounds and the stake amount.
According to the betting firm, Mr Melly proceeded to select the auto-play feature, picked 20 rounds with a stake of Sh 20,000 per round on Aviator, and this amounted to a cumulative stake of Sh 400,000.
The platform also provides a stop loss feature to promote responsible gambling, allowing players to set limits for potential losses.
Betika argued that Mr. Melly’s actions demonstrated his awareness of the game mechanics, including the auto-play feature, as evidenced by his gameplay and subsequent withdrawals.
“At 9:01am, at the end of the autoplay round, your client withdrew Sh 70,000 and at 9:03, he withdrew an additional Sh 7,500 from his Betika wallet to his Mpesa account. From the foregoing, your client, being an avid punter, is well aware of the game mechanics including the auto play feature as evidenced by his game play. Furthermore, his withdrawal (of the monies) show your client was well aware of his account activity and account balance,” added Betika.
Therefore, Betika concluded that Mr. Melly had utilized all his winnings of Sh 477,500, and no additional winnings were due to him.
Betika informed Mr. Melly about their position via phone call on October 16, 2023, but he did not accept the situation.
The company asserted its legal rights in the matter and indicated its intention to defend any legal action, with Mr. Melly assuming the risk of costs and other incidentals arising from such legal proceedings.
This incident mirrors previous cases where Betika faced legal challenges regarding bet winnings.
In August 2023, Mr. David Juma won a case against Betika, where he was awarded his Sh 500,000 jackpot winnings.
Initially, Betika claimed Mr. Juma had predicted seven out of eight matches, but he proved that he had correctly predicted all eight matches in February 2023.
Betika was not only instructed to pay Mr. Juma his winnings but also cover the costs of the lawsuit and associated interests from the due date of the jackpot payment.
