for early access to the latest igaming videos!
and get the latest igaming news first!
The 2025 Cheltenham Festival concluded with thrilling races and one unforgettable surprise for a lucky BetMGM punter. Steve, from County Durham, emerged as the first winner of BetMGM’s £500,000 Cheltenham giveaway, walking away with an incredible £250,000 prize after placing a modest £2 qualifying bet.
Sam Behar, UK Director at BetMGM, expressed excitement over the giveaway result, stating,
“After a sensational four days at Cheltenham, which included Wednesday’s feature, the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase, we’re delighted to announce the first winner of our Cheltenham £500,000 giveaway and to have given one BetMGM punter a sensational surprise! Steve has become our first winner and we’ve credited his account with an unbelievable £250,000. We think it’s fair to say he never dreamt of backing a winner as good as this one!”
Reflecting on his win, Steve shared his disbelief:
“It hasn’t sunk in, I’m still sitting here thinking ‘is this real?’. Until the money hits the bank, I’ll probably be saying the same.”
A casual bettor, Steve enjoys placing occasional wagers on football and horse racing, often enjoying family traditions like the Grand National. Speaking about his winning moment, he said,
“I do football and horse racing betting via BetMGM and the first day [of Cheltenham] I was off work and I went to Sedgefield Racecourse with a friend of mine. They had the big screen up for watching the live races, so I had a flutter on BetMGM and I saw it [the £500,000 Giveaway] in the offers and thought, ‘why not, you never know!’, which is why it’s a massive surprise.”
As for his winnings, Steve is planning wisely.
“I think some of it is going to go into my retirement fund – I’m planning for retirement and this is probably going into investments to put away for that – but some of it is probably going to go to paying off some car loans and doing a bit of house improvement.”
With one more winner yet to be announced, excitement continues to build around BetMGM’s £500,000 Cheltenham giveaway.
