BetMGM Announces First £250,000 Winner from Cheltenham Giveaway

BetMGM has confirmed the first £250,000 winner from its promotional giveaway at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival. Steve, a bettor from County Durham, secured the significant prize after placing a £2 qualifying bet with the online bookmaker.

The giveaway, one of two £250,000 prizes offered by BetMGM during the festival, underscores the operator’s commitment to engaging players with high-value promotions during major sporting events. The Cheltenham Festival remains a key period for sportsbook operators, with heightened customer participation and a surge in betting activity.

UK Director at BetMGM, Sam Behar, said: “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!”

BetMGM’s first £250,000 winner, Steve from County Durham, said: “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.

“I’ve always had a dabble, I’m not a massive bettor but I do like a bit of a flutter. We always have a family day for the Grand National.

“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.

“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.”