Gamblers Ordered to Return $750K After Hollywoodbets System Glitch

Posted on: September 15, 2025, 02:35h. 

Last updated on: September 15, 2025, 03:08h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More
Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.
  • Judge rules faulty online bets were never legally valid
  • Over 100 gamblers must repay $750K in winnings
  • Court rejects collusion claims but orders refunds to operator

A judge in South Africa has ordered more than 100 gamblers to return the roughly US$750K they “won” from an online betting game while it was on the fritz.

Hollywoodbets, South Africa gambling ruling, online betting glitch, invalid wagers, Betgames Instant Lucky 7
BetGames’ Instant Lucky 7, above, proved to be exceptionally lucky for a bunch of gamblers in South Africa – at least until they were sued and their bank accounts got frozen. (Image: BetGames)

The players were playing “Instant Lucky 7,” an instant-lottery game developed by Betgames, on the South African online gambling platform Hollywoodbets. The game ran for just seven days – Christmas week, 2023 – before it was pulled when the operator’s system flagged unusually high winnings.

Inadvertent Freeroll

That’s unsurprising in hindsight, since a glitch in the system was allowing gamblers to play for free. Dozens of players quickly realized they were “freerolling” on the game because it was allowing them to bet and withdraw winnings without deducting the stake from their accounts – a gambler’s wet dream.

It was like Christmas had come early, except that it actually was Christmas, so in this case, Christmas was pretty much right on time.

Last week, Judge Robin George Mossop in the Pietermaritzburg High Court took a dim view of all this, saying he believed the gamblers “must have noticed the weakness in the impugned game, and they exploited it,” as reported by the Johhanesburg Sunday World.

The judge also noted that “a bet,” by definition, requires a stake and an element of risk, both of which were absent because of the glitch.

In other words, without these two factors, it’s not a valid bet.

The wagers placed through the faulty game were not valid. The respondents gambled without paying, and thus, they are not entitled to keep the winnings,” said Mossop, in ordering the gamblers — and their banks – to return the money.

The company had a right to recover because its terms state that invalid bets must be refunded, he ruled.

‘Sue Me’

Once Hollywoodbets became aware of the error, it contacted the players, most of whom replied with something to the tune of “sue me,” Mossop noted.

“The applicant obliged, and that is why this matter is before me today,” he explained.

The judge rejected Hollywoodbets’ claim that the players had colluded to defraud. He noted that the bettors were spread across the region with no evidence of any connection or coordinated relationship among them.

He also criticized an earlier court order that had frozen the gamblers’ bank accounts, adding that this had caused financial hardship for many.