A Maltese court has ruled in favour of Betway after a player attempted to claim €30,279 in winnings despite using his cousin’s payment account.
A Maltese court has ruled in favour of Betway, after a player attempted to claim €30,279 in winnings despite using his cousin’s payment account and being linked to other self-excluded accounts.
The Civil Court First Hall dismissed the claim brought by Reegan Tharmalingam, who opened an account under the username ReeganR in May 2021 and deposited funds using a Neteller account registered in his cousin Sansigithan Ravichandran’s name.
The case centred on whether Betway was justified in withholding winnings obtained through breaches of its terms and conditions, which require players to use payment methods in their own name and prohibit multiple account registrations.
The court found the operator acted within its rights when it confiscated the disputed winnings while refunding €18,721 in deposits as a gesture of goodwill.
In the 6 November ruling, judge Giovanni Grixti said: “It is therefore clear that such conduct on the part of the plaintiff, admitted by himself, goes against the terms and conditions that bind the players of the defendant company.”
Betway highlights multiple accounts
Betway’s fraud team lead Carla Tarrin Paulse testified that the ReeganR account was linked to three other accounts, including Reegan1982 and ut1627, which had both been self-excluded in April 2021.
The account, she said, shared the same mobile number, bank details and password identifiers.
The court heard that Tharmalingam initially withdrew €3,124 without issue on 17 May 2021, but subsequent withdrawal requests totalling €30,000 triggered a risk review.
During cross-examination, the player admitted he never read Betway’s terms and conditions but pressed the accept button when opening his account.
The judge rejected arguments that Betway should have caught the breaches earlier, stating that the fact “his behaviour was not caught immediately is something which is to be expected given the number of players registering and commits irregular acts and does not change any of the obligations contracted between the parties.”
The Malta Gaming Authority had previously dismissed Tharmalingam’s complaint, with the regulator finding no compliance breach by Betway.
The court emphasised that self-exclusion tools exist for player protection and responsible gambling, and operators have legitimate grounds to enforce terms preventing players from circumventing such safeguards.