An irate couple has hit out at Betr for closing their account and denying them a $1000 payout from the Melbourne Cup.
Betr – which is 33 per cent-owned by media giant News Corp and launched last month – offered 100/1 odds on any horse in the Melbourne Cup for a $10 stake as a promotion – meaning a return of $1010 if their selection crossed first.
In the 2022 edition of the Cup, Gold Trip stormed home at Flemington to win, much to the delight of Kelly Chalwell, who had backed the horse through the new betting agency.
Her husband Tyler told Daily Mail Australia he received a call from his excited wife to tell him she had won. However, they then discovered Betr had deactivated her account and they are now unable to claim their windfall or even get a reply from the company.
Betr said the only accounts it closed were illegitimate and duplicates – however the couple dispute this and insist their account should not have been closed.
Tyler Chalwell (right) told Daily Mail Australia he received an exciting call from his wife Kelly (left) that her $10 bet on Gold Trip at $100/1 won and they were $1000 richer until she realised her betr account had been deactivated
Betr said the only accounts which had been closed were illegitimate, something the couple both 100 per cent dispute
The punting couple say they use the same bank account as they are a married couple but both created separate accounts, fully verified by Betr.
They say they can prove it but the betting agency won’t respond to their emails, calls or live chat.
‘I can 100 per cent prove this all to them, just they won’t get back to us,’ Mr Chalwell said.
‘I’ve tried calling, live chat and emailing again but nothing.’
Mr Chalwell said while originally it was only his wife’s account which had been deactivated, his account has since been deactivated.
‘I can’t live chat now because my accounts blocked and I have sent more emails with no reply,’ he said.
‘When I call it says something along the lines of they’re not taking calls and to email or live chat.’
Mr Chalwell said he has sent five emails to Betr about their accounts being deactivated – the first on Tuesday – and still hasn’t received a single reply.
Just 23 minutes before the race got underway she received an email that read; ‘Your betr account has been deactivated. You will not have any access to your account until you choose to activate it by sending an account activation request to [email protected]’
Ms Chalwell emailed back just four minutes later asking for her account to be reactivated
Mr Chalwell said his wife is ‘pretty p***** off’ after realising she couldn’t access her Melbourne Cup winnings.
‘We opened the account a few weeks ago when having a few drinks with friends and family,’ Mr Chalwell said.
‘So my wife and some friends signed up as I was talking about the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup offer.
‘She chose Gold Trip in the account, and her account was verified.’
Ms Chalwell also backed Anamoe at 21/1 odds – another Betr offer for a max $10 stake – and was able to withdraw her winnings from that win.
Kelly emailed, called, started a live chat and messaged betr customer support but she did not receive a response
‘She saw Gold Trip won and she was stoked but went to login and saw her account had been deactivated,’ he said.
Just 23 minutes before the race got underway she received an email that read; ‘Your Betr account has been deactivated. You will not have any access to your account until you choose to activate it by sending an account activation request to [email protected].’
‘Please do not consider opening a further account as any transactions occurring within this period will be voided and any winnings forfeited.’
Ms Chalwell emailed back just four minutes later asking for her account to be reactivated.
‘Hi, Can you please reactivate my account. I see no reason why I should have been deactivated. Cheers, Kelly.’
She then proceeded to call and live chat but received no response from Betr.
Both Mr and Ms Chalwell are irate with the betting agency and continue to try to get in touch and access their winnings.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Betr for comment.
Betr – which is 33 per cent-owned by media giant NewsCorp and launched last month – offered anyone 100/1 odds on any horse in the Melbourne Cup for a $10 stake as a promotion – meaning a return of $1010 if their selection won
Betr urged punters on Tuesday morning to scrap their bets after a promotion offered crazy 100-1 odds on every horse in the Melbourne Cup, including favourite Deauville Legend
Betr caught the attention of Aussie punters earlier this week by offering outrageous 100-1 odds on all horses for the Melbourne Cup, even hot favourite Deauville Legend.
The agency is now facing possible fines from the gambling regulator and the wrath of furious punters who claim their accounts were deactivated so they couldn’t collect their winnings.
The probe could also cost part-owner News Corp after the company’s newspapers published adverts for the offer nationwide which may also have been in breach of local state laws.
Gold Trip’s storming victory on Tuesday meant the News Corp-backed firm dodged a disastrous $50 million payout.
And on Friday, Betr boss Matt Tripp shot down the ‘rubbish’ rumours his company avoided millions of dollars worth of payouts on its controversial offer of 100/1 odds on every horse in this year’s Melbourne Cup.
‘I’ve read a couple of things that we deactivated accounts and all this sort of rubbish,’ he told Sydney Morning Herald.
‘There were a bunch of duplicate accounts trying to open multiple accounts, which wasn’t in the spirit of the way things should be handled. That was a very small section of the 300,000 people who have joined us. Less than one per cent.’
Tripp has now revealed how he and other Betr executives dealt with the stress of a looming financial disaster on Melbourne Cup day.
They were gathered in his office to watch the horses in the parade ring, hoping favourite Deauville Legend wouldn’t win and turn the 100-1 odds promo into a catastrophe – but became worried when experts said the horse looked in great shape.
Betr agency founder Matthew Tripp (pictured with his family) has hit back at claims the agency shut down punters’ accounts to avoid paying out their winnings after launching a controversial offer on all the horses in this year’s Melbourne Cup
Betr is desperately trying to stem the massive losses with a frantic text offering $150 in free bets to anyone who backed Deauville Legend under the offer.
As well as the $150 in free bets, punters will also get a refund of their $10 stake if they scrap the wager on Deauville Legend before the first race at Flemington
Betr was launched less than three weeks ago in time for racing’s Spring Carnival in a joint venture with bookie entrepreneur Matthew Tripp, who previously launched Sportsbet and BetEasy (pictured, early arrivals at Flemington for the 2022 Melbourne Cup)
Betr launched with 60 staff and plans to quickly expand to 120 by targeting the lucrative under 35s market (pictured, early arrivals at Flemington for the 2022 Melbourne Cup)
‘I thought the same thing,’ Tripp admitted. ‘A few people also called me from the track and said it presented well. I thought, “S**t, that’s all I need.”‘
Deauville Legend looked a threat to win the race as it chased down the leaders with 450 metres left to run, and Tripp – who said the most he’d previously stood to lose on a horse was $2million to $3million – felt even more pressure.
‘When the horse loomed up I thought, “Here we go. This is not a good way to start a business. They’ll all be out to get me tonight,”‘ he recalled.
The favourite finished fourth, however – and Tripp said the Betr office was ‘like a nightclub’ after the race.
Betr was launched less than three weeks ago in time for racing’s Spring Carnival in a joint venture with bookie entrepreneur Tripp, who previously launched Sportsbet and BetEasy.
It was designed to harness and leverage the reach and power of broadcaster Foxtel and state newspapers to maximise betting potential, based on the successful Sky BET in the UK and FOX Bet in the US.
Betr launched with 60 staff and plans to quickly expand to 120 by targeting the lucrative under 35s market.
It is currently said to be bidding for the $1billion licence for wagering rights in Western Australia in a major investment and expansion.