Human or computer error? Man alleges he lost $17k winnings after his bet went missing

The man took a photo of his bet before, he says, he submitted it. Photo / Supplied

An Auckland North Shore man placed a $50 multi-bet online with aspirations of winning big and claiming a prize of $17,000.

It was all in the hopes he could get a rather expensive massage chair for his wife so when he checked the bet on the weekend and saw his predictions had rung true, and the bet was on the money, he was chuffed.

TAB media manager Mark Stafford says a North Shore mans claims that he may have been cheated out of $17,000 in winnings is probably a case of failing to fully confirm a bet. Photo / Greg Bowker

He was ecstatic and elated, but his feelings quickly turned to anger when he checked his betting slip only to find the bet had not been confirmed.

The man, who did not want to be named for fear of being ridiculed, maintains with certainty that he placed and confirmed the bet.

"I really did question myself, did I forget to? I have been betting on TAB for several years and it has never happened to me before.

"This is my first time to win big then they told me that I didn't confirm the bet. I remember confirming," the man said.

His question was "why did this happen only when I had a big win?"

He usually took pictures of every bet he made and confirmed but in this instance he only took a picture of the bet before clicking confirm.

In hindsight not taking a picture of the confirmed bet was a "huge mistake", he said.

He had taken up the issue with TAB who looked into his bet and also came to the conclusion that no bet had been confirmed, rather he had looked at his potential winnings before finalising it.

TAB media manager Mark Stafford said the likely case was that the man had gone as far as seeing the potential winnings of the bet but had not confirmed the bet.

"As soon as they push confirm we know but up till that stage they could be doing anything."

The man's $50 multi-bet online could have claimed a prize close to $17,000. Photo / Supplied

The betting service could easily tell if a bet had been confirmed but before that they kept no record.

"We certainly don't dishonour legitimately placed bets. In fact we celebrate such wins on our website."

The man who was considering seeking legal advice wanted his story to warn others.

His message was to take photos of every step of the betting process so there was no arguing if something did go wrong.