Credit: ITV & Adobe Stock
Wild Twist After Woman Who ‘Won $1.6 Million’ Jackpot Refused Prize Money
A wild twist has emerged after a woman who was told she’d won $1.6 million jackpot ended up being refused her prize money.
We all dream of winning a huge sum of money, but for one woman, that dream was ripped away all too quickly…
A British mom-of-two was shocked when she opened her William Hill betting app to find she was a millionaire.
Claire Ainsley couldn’t believe her eyes and ‘went off the game three times’ to check if it was real.
When the huge number didn’t change, she felt ‘so excited’ and started dreaming up plans for her and her kids’ futures.
“I couldn’t believe it. I got so emotional. I range my family, I told everyone. I was over the moon.”
The single mom then emailed the company, which confirmed the money would be in her bank account within 72 hours.
After waiting for a couple of days, doubt started to creep in about whether it was too good to be true, but I also thought the jackpot might be a ‘gift’ from her late mom, who passed away three years ago.
The $1.6 million jackpot ‘glitch’
When Claire tried to withdraw the £1.27 million (roughly $1.6 million) from her account, she said it ‘got declined at the last minute.’
Two days later, she got an email from William Hill claiming it was a ‘glitch’ and she wasn’t going to receive anything.
In that moment, the mum told Good Morning Britain she went from feeling ‘so excited’ to ‘really gutted,’ realising ‘me and my children aren’t going to get anything.’
Since going public, many William Hill customers have also opened up about being victims of the company’s ‘glitch,’ with their apps telling them they’d won big, only to be left disappointed.
The bookies’ owners, Evoke, claim the money was incorrectly awarded due to an ‘issue’ with the game, and told LADbible the error led to an unexpectedly large number of users being ‘erroneously credited.’
An Evoke spokesperson said: “We have been grateful for our customers’ understanding on this matter and apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
“A lot of people have won, and some people have taken the money out,” Claire told Good Morning Britain, “so I’m quite lucky it didn’t go into my account, because I don’t have the money to pay it back.”
After Claire’s experience went viral, William Hill got in touch with her to offer some reimbursement, but it wasn’t exactly close to the seven-figure sum.
She said: “I got an email back saying ‘We’ll give you £39 [$52].’
“They’re just saying that because if we go higher, it will look bad on the company.”
Claire said she sought legal advice, but couldn’t afford the £600 ($800) fee for a lawyer.
The mom admitted the whole ordeal has put her off gambling in the future, saying: “I think [gambling] is all a scam now. 100 percent.
“I’m not a gambling person, and the one time I thought I’d won that much money and then, now this! The stress… I swear I’ve only had a couple of hours of sleep.”
A surprise offer
However, Claire’s opinions on gambling companies were slightly changed when the boss of rival online betting firm MetaWin got in touch.
After seeing her disappointment, the CEO Richard Skelhorn offered her £50,000, which is just under $70,000.
He said it was ‘absolutely shameful’ she hadn’t got her money from William Hill.
At first, the mom thought it was a scam.
But after thinking she’d ‘got no money anyway,’ Claire provided her bank details, and, as requested by Skelhorn, tagged MetaWin in an online post where she wrote about what happened.
Since posting, the mom-of-two confirmed on Facebook that Skelhorn had ‘sent her a life-changing amount of money.’
In the post, she said: “I want to thank you so so much for the money. I still can’t believe it I really do appreciate it.”
Regarding Skelhorn, she wrote: “I can’t thank him enough for what an amazing gesture.”
Related Articles: National Lottery Responds After Couple Told They Can’t Collect $200 Million Jackpot
Related Articles: Man Who Won Lottery 14 Times Reveals How He Beat The System
Want more stuff like this?
Get the best viral stories straight into your inbox!
