How the 12-match bet won
The customer staked £4 on over 11.5 corners in each of 12 English Football League games. Every match therefore needed at least 12 corners, regardless of the score.
Betfair said 11 matches finished with 13 or more corners. AFC Wimbledon v Wycombe was the only one to finish with exactly 12, reaching that total in the 76th minute. The selections also included Oxford United's goalless draw with Bradford and low-scoring games involving West Brom, Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough.
Alongside Oxford United v Bradford and AFC Wimbledon v Wycombe, the bet covered Reading v Barnsley, Stevenage v MK Dons, Doncaster v Sheffield Wednesday, Cambridge United v Plymouth, Notts County v Stockport, Burton Albion v Leyton Orient, Bromley v Peterborough, Preston v West Brom, QPR v Swansea and Blackpool v Mansfield.
The accumulator's total odds were 249,346/1. Individual prices included 2/1 (3.00) for QPR v Swansea and 31/20 (2.55) for both Cambridge United v Plymouth and Preston v West Brom.
A return just below Betfair's daily limit
The £997,385.09 return was just below the £1 million overall daily payout ceiling in Betfair's published Sportsbook rules. That ceiling covers a customer's winning bets across Sportsbook, Fixed Odds and Multiples products combined. Any winnings above it are reduced to £1 million, with the excess forfeited.
The rules also apply the limit to customers acting together on the same combination of selections. If a multiple includes events subject to different maximum payouts, the lowest applicable limit governs the entire bet.
Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said the company was "absolutely delighted" for the Portsmouth customer and "couldn't be happier to pay out such a large sum of money".
For single football bets rather than accumulators, Goal.com cites the 5,000/1 offered on Leicester City winning the 2015-16 Premier League as the widely cited biggest winning bet. One customer who staked £50 cashed out for more than £72,000 in March 2016; keeping the bet until Leicester secured the title would have returned £250,000.
Winner plans mortgage payoff and family trips
The Portsmouth customer said the bet grew out of a weekend routine with friends: each contributes a selection to an accumulator through their group chat. Their usual market is both teams to score, while he favors corners. With £4 left in his account, he decided to place a separate accumulator with more corners selections.
An Aston Villa fan, he had gone out with his son to watch the early kickoff. They were soaked by the weather on the walk home, and he did not discover the win until about half an hour after all the matches had ended.
He described feeling emotional and initially sick as he tried to establish that the balance was real. His wife was out when he checked, and he asked her to confirm the amount after she returned. He said he then slept little that night while thinking about what the money would allow the family to do.
He plans to pay off his mortgage, buy a new car for himself and his wife, take a family vacation and attend more games at Villa Park with his son. He also intends to treat the friends with whom he usually bets.
