Ladbrokes refuses to pay £7.1m snow bet

Ladbrokes has refused to pay out more than £7m to a man who bet on a white Christmas.

The Daily Telegraph says that Cliff Bryant from Southampton placed two £5 accumulators on a white Christmas across 24 towns and cities.

However, Ladbrokes has refused to pay out after claiming that accumulators are banned for betting on snow.

The company apologised for allowing the bet to be made in the first place and paid Bryant £31.78 for the single bets.

However, it is estimated that the first accumulator would have won just over £4.9m while the other would have made Bryant a further £2.23m.

Bryant said that he is "gutted" about the decision and added: "This is a genuine mistake, and if I make a mistake in my work like that it costs me dearly and I think the offer should be a lot more generous than they have made. They are one of the leading bookmakers in the country and I think they ought to do their homework a bit better in future."

Meanwhile, a Ladbrokes spokesperson said: "We have apologised to the customer for any confusion and for mistakenly accepting an accumulator bet when our own rules state that only single bets are available on a market of this nature. We are happy to void the bets and pay the customer his winnings on the relevant singles."

A representative for the Independent Betting Adjudication Service said that Bryant had been in contact and added that they will investigate once he sends them the paperwork.