Are online bookmakers playing fair with punters?

I liked a punt when I was a student, spending more time on a racecourse than I ever did in lecture halls, and still vividly recall the horror of losing two grand on a single bet, after which it was dry bread and Tesco lager for months. I always thought that was a pretty big (slash stupid) bet for my situation, but news this week suggests some of today's students are punting on a different level entirely.

Bet365 are being taken to court for refusing to pay out on bets placed by a student from Northern Ireland, Megan McCann, who was 19 when she won over £1 million after staking nearly £25,000 on 960 each-way Lucky 15s. In legal correspondence published by the Telegraph, Bet365 claim McCann was "using the funds of and for the benefit of third parties, in flagrant breach of our client’s terms", hence the refusal to pay out or even return the staked money.

The notion of someone like McCann betting £25,000 on each-way Lucky 15s certainly challenges our stereotypes of debt-ridden, ramen-munching students but as fascinating as they are it is not the facts of this case, which will be determined by the High Court in Belfast, that are of most interest here. Rather, it is the spotlight the case shines on the wider issue of bookies' terms and conditions.