William Hill voids CA$2.1M jackpot — MetaWin's owner sends the player CA$87,000
A UK player thought she'd won more than CA$2.1 million on William Hill's mobile app. The operator pulled the win, citing a technical fault. Then MetaWin's founder stepped in and sent her CA$87,000 — out of his own pocket, not the casino's.
Claire Ainsley became a millionaire for about a day. Then William Hill took it back. The UK operator refused to pay out a jackpot worth more than CA$2.1 million on its mobile app, and pinned the reversal on a system error. The story would have ended there if Richard Skelhorn, the man behind crypto casino MetaWin, hadn't picked up the tab himself — about CA$87,000, wired straight to her account from his personal funds.
How it played out
The win came from Jackpot Drop, a mini-game inside the official William Hill app. Ainsley was spinning slots when the screen flashed a payout north of CA$2.2 million. At first, everything ran like a standard winner's flow. Support confirmed the hit. They even asked her for the usual KYC documents — ID, address proof — before processing the withdrawal.
Then the operator called back. No money. William Hill told her the credit was a mistake caused by a system fault that hit several accounts at once. Citing its T&Cs, the casino voided the win. Any payout traced to a bug or system error gets cancelled on the spot — that's the clause they leaned on.
A rival picks up the bill
The story spread fast on social media and in trade press, and the pressure on William Hill built up quickly. That's when Skelhorn went public. He posted on X that he'd called Ainsley directly and was sending her about CA$87,000 from his personal account. He attached a screenshot of the bank confirmation.
He also got ahead of the obvious accusation. This wasn't a marketing stunt for MetaWin, he said — the unfairness just got under his skin and he wanted to help. Ainsley accepted, and said the money's going on a trip with her kids.Mark Patterson is the news writer at CasinosInCanada who covers the latest developments in the iGaming industry, including casino launches, regulations, and market updates.
