Betfair Poker recently put out a new upgrade to their poker software. However, this software upgrade came with a glitch which allowed poker players to make off with hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The software upgrade created a glitch in Betfair Poker’s six-pack sit and gos where if everybody went all-in on the first hand, the winner would take the first place prize while everyone else would receive the second place prize. Once the glitch was discovered by the players, they could not help but exploit it for obscene profits. Players started playing in the $1,000 six-pac sit and gos, the most expensive Betfair offers, and walked away with second place prizes, first place prizes if they were lucky enough to win.
No one knows exactly how long this went on before Betfair Poker discovered what was happening, but it has been estimated that hundreds of sit and gos were performed with all the players involved exploiting the glitch. Once Betfair discovered the glitch, the race was on for the players to withdraw their winnings before Betfair could stop them. Most players could not get their money out of Betfair before their accounts were frozen. However, some players were quick enough to withdraw their winnings, but they were not left in peace, as Betfair has sent emails to these players advising them to give the money back.
The emails sent to the players who withdrew their winnings were reported to have said that games had been set up incorrectly, resulting in everyone getting paid in certain all-in situations, and that there were players who exploited the incorrect setup to generate large returns in a short period of time. The email concludes by saying, “As I’m sure you can understand, the winnings received as a result of this exploitation must be returned.”
While there is no accurate report of how much money was lost through the glitch, there is one report that estimates the amount at £1.7 million. Most of the money is currently frozen in Betfair accounts, but as a number of players did withdraw their portion of the take, it will be interesting to see how many return the money, and how many will face legal action from Betfair. The players who did withdraw money will very likely be unable to find a legal way to keep their money, as the Betfair Poker Terms and Conditions, as stated below, have the situation covered, and all Betfair players must agree to the Terms and Conditions before being allowed to play.
“9.2 If you are incorrectly awarded any winnings as a result of (a) any human error on the part of the Service Providers or (b) any bug, defect or error in the Software or (c) the failure of the Products or the Software to operate in accordance with the rules of any of Poker’s games then the Service Providers will not be liable to pay you any such winnings and you agree to refund any such winnings that may have been paid to you as a result of such error or mistake.”