Gal Betting Ltd on spot for blocking account after Ugandan client wins Shs15M

Betting company, A Better Place Limited, operating as Gal Sports Betting (GSB), has come under spotlight for allegedly blocking the account of a client who won over Shs15.3 million in betting winnings.

The client, Joel Muyanja, claims that despite winning his bets in February, GSB has blocked his account and has not paid out his winnings.

Muyanja reports that he made several deposits into his account (User ID: 394048) in February, including Shs100,000 on February 12 and another Shs2,308,000 on February 21. He says he used these funds to place various live bets, winning some and losing or cashing out on others.

He alleges that on February 22, 2025, he placed a stake of Shs7.4 million, which resulted in winnings of Shs15,336,433.36.

However, Muyanja says that after this win, GSB blocked his account and has since not released his winnings.

Appeal to Regulatory Authority

In a formal complaint dated March 4, 2025, Muyanja reached out to the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, seeking their assistance.

"I am humbly writing to file a formal complaint against A Better Place Limited, a licensed betting operator in Uganda trading as GSB Uganda, for refusing to unblock my betting account and

failing to pay out my rightful bet winnings of Shs15,336,433.36." he stated.

Muyanja asserts that when his account was blocked, his winnings were still reflected as a balance of Shs15,336,433.

He mentioned, "I could only login, but the account was blocked from Betting, Depositing and Withdrawing funds,"

GSB Responds

In response, the betting company through their lawyers Festo & Co. Advocates explained that they suspended Muyanja's account at their discretion due to suspected fraudulent activity.

"Mr. Joel Muyanja, through his betting account, was flagged by our client's risk department

for involvement in suspicious fraudulent activities. Consequently, the customer's account was

suspended for investigation and fraud was established," GSB's legal team stated.

GSB further stated, "As per the Terms and Conditions - published publicly on all platforms, GSB Uganda reserves the right to suspend or cancel customer accounts at its sole discretion, especially for fraudulent activity."

The company added that they are only obligated to refund the deposits made or any remaining balance at the time of account cancellation, asserting that there will be no payment to Muyanja for what they classify as fraudulent winnings.

"Your client was informed of the findings and advised to withdraw his monies from the account for it to be cancelled. He voluntarily withdrew his funds. The account will remain locked, and the customer is banned from using our client's platform due to the fraudulent nature of his activity." the company asserted.

This is not the first time a client has had a disagreement with a betting company regarding the refusal to pay out winnings.

Last year, a client took legal action against a renown betting company for allegedly not paying his winnings of Shs 230 million after he won.