THE betting industry and professional punters are closely following a Northern Ireland court case which sees a 20-year-old student suing online bookmaker Bet365 for over £1 million.

The plaintiff, Megan McCann, had an account with Bet365 which was used to place a series of ‘Lucky 15’ bets involving four races on the same evening in June last year.

The bet, which cost Miss McCann £24,960, produced the winner of each of the four races, which accrued a return of £985,000 plus the original stake back.

The betting company refuses to pay out, saying it believes Miss McCann placed the bet on behalf of a third party which is not allowed in its terms and conditions.

Miss McCann’s lawyers dispute that their client knew of this rule which they say is buried in terms and conditions that are “too lengthy, too complex and much too vague for the average customer to understand.”

The case is very similar to one involving Barney Curley in 2010. That case, which involved five people, four of which were related to the trainer, also involved accumulators involving four horses, three of which were trained by Curley.

The Curley case was brought against bookmaker Betfred who were ultimately forced to pay out the winnings of £823,000.

The lawyer involved in that case Andrew Montague, has been hired by Miss McCann.

Miss McCann’s winning bet, made on June 22nd last year, is said to have involved 960 £13 each-way ‘Lucky 15’ bets placed on 12 horses running that evening, including two at Naas.

Bet365, said to be one of the biggest online bookmakers in the world, is popular with racing punters who are attracted to its very competitive each-way terms on daily racing markets.