A blackjack gambler has won his High Court battle against the online gambling company Betfred after the operator refused to pay out the £1.7-million jackpot he had won.
The 54-year-old Andrew Green has spent three years fighting with the gambling company to receive the seven-figure prize he won while playing the Magic Seven game on his phone in January 2018. At the time, he was congratulated by a member of Betfred’s staff on winning the jackpot, only five days later the betting operator informed Mr Green that it would not pay out the sum, saying he had managed to win it due to an alleged software glitch.
Betfred explained there had been a software malfunction, which had prevented the game from resetting properly. As claimed by the online gambling company, the glitch would have resulted in a continuous increase in the user’s prize in case he had continued playing.
So, instead of paying out his winnings, the online gambling company allegedly offered Mr Green a “goodwill gesture” of £60,000 if he did not seek his prize anymore. The player, who is a single father-of-three from Washingborough, Lincolnshire, rejected the deal and then filed legal action against the operator to reclaim his winnings. As mentioned above, the lawsuit has continued for three years.
Player Encourages Other Mistreated Players to Challenge Gambling Firms
Earlier this week, Mrs Justice Foster, a High Court judge, ruled that Betfred had no grounds for not paying out the jackpot won by Mr Green. Under the Court’s ruling, the player would be able to finally receive the payout plus interest, estimated at about £2 million.
After the judge announced the court’s decision, Betfred has apologised to Mr Green for the delay in paying out his winnings. The online gambling company also shared it does not intend to appeal against the judgement. As reported by The Daily Mail, a spokesperson for the company was unable to reveal when the operator would send the money to Mr Green.
The player shared that the High Court’s ruling proved there was justice for people like him, who are mistreated by gambling operators. He said that he had never done anything wrong and had been congratulated for five days on becoming a millionaire, after which the prize was taken away from him. Mr Green also encouraged other players who have been mistreated by gambling companies to challenge them in court and said his case was the actual proof justice is not impossible to get.
In 2018, when he started his legal action against Betfred, Mr Green revealed that after the jackpot win, he extended his overdraft and spent over £2,500 to celebrate with his family and friends. Unfortunately for him, Betfred refused to pay the prize after claiming there had been a software error that led to the jackpot, so his winnings were not real.
- Author
Olivia Cole
