Punter stops long-running legal case against bet365 over unpaid £1m win

Megan McCann's legal action to force bet365 to pay out over £1 million on a successful bet has been discontinued. It is not known whether the action was discontinued following a financial settlement.

The latest in a long succession of court hearings was due to be held at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast this Friday but was removed from the listings yesterday.

Andrew Montague, the solicitor acting for McCann, was not available for comment. He is currently on holiday with legendary gambler Barney Curley in Marbella.

This case prompted memories of Montague's action on behalf of claimants associated with Curley in a betting coup that won £4m in 2010. Betfred refused to pay the £823,000 claimed from them but, in 2012, following action against Gibraltar's regulatory authority, ultimately agreed to pay.

The case arose from an online bet placed by McCann, then an 18-year-old student, on June 22, 2016. The bet, an each-way Lucky 15, combined 12 selections in four races at Bath, Kempton and Naas. McCann's stake of £24,960 won £984,833 but bet365 refused to pay and withheld the stake.

The company alleged that the bet was placed on behalf of a third party and therefore breached the bookmaker's rules.

In 2017, McCann sued bet365 for breach of contract and for the past two years there has been a series of legal arguments in advance of the full hearing that was expected to take place this year.

McCann's lawyers alleged that, through terms and conditions that were "unfair and unenforceable," bet365, one of the world’s biggest online gambling companies, engaged in practices that were "unconscionable, exploitative and unlawful".

Bet365 maintained that McCann's claims were "scandalous, frivolous or vexatious" and sought to have key elements of her claim struck out.

The case put a spotlight on terms and conditions that allow a bookmaker to declare bets invalid if placed on behalf of a third party. In certain circumstances, including that of McCann, they may withhold stake money as well as winnings.

The 'third party rule' raises questions about the extent to which, across the industry, winning and losing bets, and bets placed by different individuals, are treated uniformly. Such rules are in part based on concerns about the use of gambling to launder criminally obtained money.

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