Betting firm to lose £30,000 after misjudging World Cup offer

Now, the company is being accused of unfair trade practises after it limited the size of bets once they realised their mistake.

The betting site ran a novelty offer called 'Shocking Decision, Ref' which allowed users to guess the number of times that the ball would cross the line but without the goal being given.

Sporting Index made an initial estimate of up to 22.5, which was thought to have been based on the Video Assistant Referee system being used at the tournament.

However, the firm still estimated 22.5 times for the entire tournament.

City trader Simon Cawkwell told the 'Guardian' that he was advised to bet much lower by Andrew Woolfson, the cofounder of gambling software business 'Be The House.'

Cawkwell now stands to win £2,000 for every number below 22.5.

With just 3 games left to go in the tournament, the ball has crossed the line without a goal seven times in 60 games, which means Cawkwell is now on track to make more than £30,000. 

He said that the company limited his bets after he tried to increase his stake, after they realised that he was likely to win a lot more money.

"It is undoubtably a miscalculation," he said.

"Sporting Index take huge bets so I’m delighted to win some money back off them. I don’t kid myself, they’ve done very well by my betting."

 This is not the first time that Cawkwell has won big from Sporting Index.

During the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he bet on the southern hemisphere teams outscoring their rivals from the North, winning £250,000.

Sporting Index said in a statement: "The Shocking Decision, Ref! market is very popular with our customers and is one that we have offered on World Cup finals and European championships since 2002."

"Like all markets it is based on historical data. We cannot comment on individual client’s bets, but we can confirm that the market has seen two-way business both before and during the tournament."

"We can also confirm that we treat each bet on a case-by-case basis and manage our risk and liabilities accordingly."

Andrew Woolfson said that the company limiting the bets below the estimated 22.5 was unfair.

"They’ve put up a stupid novelty market and not really done the maths properly."

"What happens when they get caught out is that they then start to make it impossible for you to close your position or to make any more money out of them."

"That’s where it’s a bit unfair. When you’ve made a mistake, we should have the right to win. Cawkwell and I are both losers with Sporting Index over the years."

"So we’ve spotted an anomaly, give us a chance to make some of our money back."