Bezbets Ordered To Pay Punter’s Rightful Winnings And Legal Fees After Losing Court Appeal

Bezbets Ordered To Pay Punter’s Rightful Winnings And Legal Fees After Losing Court Appeal

Bezbets has been ordered to pay a punter’s rightful winnings and his legal fees after they lost their court appeal.

The High Court has dismissed the company’s application to appeal a judgment in favour of a customer who was denied his rightful winnings.

Justice Siyabona Musithu ruled the application fundamentally flawed, striking it off the roll during recent proceedings.

Background of the Bezbets Dispute

The case centres around Prosper Dembedza, a bettor who placed a $394 wager on the Bezbets online roulette platform in October 2023.

When his bet succeeded, the system indicated potential winnings of $5,400. However, the company allegedly refused to honour the full amount, offering just $1,800 instead.

ALSO READ: Companies In Zimbabwe Only Profitable When Breaking The Law, Admits Mthuli Ncube

This dispute led to criminal charges against Bezbets, resulting in a $500 fine imposed by a Harare magistrate in March 2024. The betting operator subsequently attempted to challenge this outcome through the High Court.

Bezbets
Bezbets Ordered To Pay Punter’s Rightful Winnings And Legal Fees After Losing Court Appeal – Image Source@newsday

Legal Technicalities Prove Fatal

Bernard Zieve, representing Bezbets as licensee, argued that procedural misunderstandings caused their failure to file necessary legal documents within the required timeframe. He claimed the delay occurred during court vacations and stemmed from genuine confusion rather than negligence.

However, Dembedza’s legal team, led by Peter Patisani, successfully countered that Bezbets failed to demonstrate reasonable prospects of success in their founding affidavit – a crucial requirement for such applications.

Bezbets Ordered To Pay Punter’s Rightful Winnings And Legal Fees After Losing Court Appeal

Justice Musithu’s judgment emphasised that applicants must clearly establish their case’s merits from the outset.

“Prospects of success must be properly pleaded and demonstrated in the founding affidavit,” the ruling stated, concluding the application was improperly before the court.

The court ordered Bezbets to cover Dembedza’s legal costs, though it declined to award the more severe attorney-client scale costs requested by the respondent.

ALSO READ: Watch: Harare couple caught making love in Rufaro stadium

Broader Implications

This decision reinforces legal standards for appeals while highlighting consumer protection in Zimbabwe’s growing online betting industry. It serves as a cautionary tale for gambling operators regarding contractual obligations to customers.

The ruling also clarified the proper legal identity of the betting operation, with the court noting that “Bezbets Betting Company” as cited in documents doesn’t exist as a legal entity – a technicality that further weakened the applicant’s position.

Follow Us on Google News for Immediate Updates

The post Bezbets Ordered To Pay Punter’s Rightful Winnings And Legal Fees After Losing Court Appeal appeared first on iHarare News.