When do bookies have to pay out? Your betting rights explained trends now
The World Cup may be over, but gamblers across the country are continuing to try their luck with Britain's bookies.
For the majority of those putting a stake on their favourite team or a lucky horse, the betting transaction goes off without a hitch.
But what happens when a bookmaker refuses to pay out?
And how might the small print prevent you from picking up a winning bet?
Below, MailOnline explains your legal rights to claim your winnings:
When do bookmakers have to pay out my bet?Under the 2005 Gambling Act, a bookmaker must pay out a winning bet and punters can take them to court if they fail to do so.
According to the Gambling Act 2005, a bet is defined is a transaction that 'relates to the outcome of a race, competition or other event or process'.
A bet, therefore, could be placed on the outcome of a horse race, a sporting competition or any other event or process.
When a customer place their bet with an operator, they are technically agreeing to enter into a legal contract with the bookmaker for the result of that contest.
Upon doing so, the customer agrees to abide to a specific framework of terms and conditions, as does the betting operator.
Should the customer win their stake, the betting company would be legally obliged to pay out
Under the 2005 Gambling Act, a bookmaker must pay out a winning bet and punters can take them to court if they fail to do so
In short, no - provided a customer has conformed to the rules of the betting operator's often expansive terms and conditions.
Should a bookmaker refuse to pay out a winning bet, they would technically be in breach of contract with the customer.
However, a gambling operator could legally refuse to pay out in a number of situations, including when a bet breached their terms and conditions, was accepted in error or was based on incorrect pricing.
For example, should a gambling firm find a customer has more than one account with them, they could refuse to respect the result of a customer's bet.
One of the most common reasons behind non-payouts is where a betting company has voided a bet after making an obvious error within the pricing of a bet or within the wider betting market.
In other instances, albeit rare, online bookmakers have refused to hand out winnings to punters when blaming 'software errors' on their web-based games.
How can I dispute a bookmaker's decision?The first available option
