A young man from Nandi Hills, Nandi County, is seeking answers after mysteriously losing KSh 1.2 million from his betting account just hours after winning big.

Collins Kiptoo, who had secured a major win of Ksh 1.5 million through a bet, says his joy was short-lived after most of his winnings disappeared overnight under unclear circumstances.

According to Kiptoo, the incident occurred following a series of events that began on March 13, 2024, when he placed a successful bet and was declared a winner. The betting firm deposited the KSh 1.5 million into his account at around 1:00 am on March 14.

Elated by the win, Kiptoo attempted to place another bet barely ten minutes later, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Upon contacting the company’s customer care, he was advised to wait 24 hours before placing another bet due to system restrictions.

While waiting, Kiptoo decided to withdraw part of his winnings. He managed to withdraw KSh 300,000, which he says was the maximum allowed by the betting firm at that time. By the evening of March 14, at around 7:29 pm, Kiptoo checked his account and confirmed that the remaining balance was still intact.

However, the situation took a dramatic turn when Kiptoo checked his account again at around 1:30 am on March 15. To his shock, the account balance had dropped to near zero, with over KSh 1.2 million missing.

Alarmed, Kiptoo contacted the betting firm’s customer care once again. To his dismay, he was informed that his money had been lost through “auto-bets” — a feature he insists he never authorized or activated. Despite his protests that he did not place any additional bets, the firm maintained that the losses were legitimate.

Feeling frustrated and cheated, Kiptoo took matters into his own hands and stormed the betting firm’s offices in Westlands, Nairobi. He is now demanding a full explanation of who withdrew his money and how the KSh 1.2 million vanished from his account.

The incident has sparked concern among betting customers over the safety of their winnings and the accountability of betting firms.