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The headlines these past 24 hours have been jarring.
From the Daily Express: I’ve Won 200-1 Bet on My Grandson at Olympics….But Bookies Won’t Pay Up
From the San Francisco Chronicle: British Bookmakers Won’t Pay Out Grandmother’s Winning Bet
And from This Is Kent: Bookies Void Gran’s £5 Bet on Sam Oldham’s Olympic Medal
All of this is in regard to BetFred.com’s refusal to pay British Olympic gymnast Sam Oldham’s granny for a bet that he would win a medal with the expected payout of £1000. BetFred.com says that Linda Aldred, 66, (pictured below holding the betting ticket) placed the wager on her grandson winning an individual medal whereas the bronze was awarded to the team as a whole.
She said: "I thought it would be a good idea as Sam's grandad Eric was a betting man, so my sister and I thought we would put down a bet together in his memory.
"We had never been in a betting shop before. The bet was for Sam to win any medal. As I walked out I said 'this one is for Eric' but I considered the bet already lost."
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That bet has garnered plenty of attention, not just because Aldred happens to be Oldham’s grandma and not only a result of BetFred’s refusal to pay, but because Great Britain hasn’t won a gymnastics medal since the Stockholm Games in 1912.
Yes, Grandma Aldred could very well be the second coming of “Jimmy The Greek” with her uncanny betting prowess.
It’s likely the local press is just getting started where this story is concerned especially since the outcry went entirely ignored on Wednesday.
Ms. Aldred and her sister, 70-year-old Patricia Weatherall, have already approached The Independent Betting Adjudication Service (IBAS) to file a complaint.
How it got this far is anybody’s guess as this is proving to be a total PR nightmare for BetFred.com.
“Pathetic! Every man has his price and BETFRED's was pretty low,” commented one reader on the This Is Kent website.
We at Gambling911.com could not have said it any better. Pay Granny BetFred! You are better than that!
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
