A Lincolnshire online casino player has won a three-year battle with Betfred over the platform’s failure to payout his £1.7m jackpot win.
Software Defect
Back in 2018, Andrew Green was playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven Blackjack when he won the jackpot. After a few days, he tried to withdraw his winning but was unsuccessful. After contacting Betfred Mr. Green was told there had been a software defect where payouts were more likely to be higher than intended.After further consultations with Betfred, they offered Mr. Green a 60,000 payment as a ‘goodwill gesture’ on the proviso he never spoke of the incident. Mr. Green declined the gesture and decided to take the matter to court.
Terms and Conditions Failure
Mr. Green’s lawyers at the hearing asked Mrs. Justice Foster to either rule in his favour or strike out Betfred’s defense to his claim. Mrs. Justice Foster ruled in Mr. Green’s favour after the terms and conditions Betfred was using in their defense were ‘just not apt to cover the circumstances in this case.“It’s not dealing with the failure to pay out the winnings at all. Nor is it dealing with a fault or glitch or programming mistake that is undetectable to either party.“I am of the clear view that these clauses in the terms and conditions are inadequate to exempt Betfred from the obligation to pay out on an ostensibly winning bet or series of bets.”In Betfred’s defense, their lawyers argued they were not liable to pay as the game software had a defect, but the judge ruled in Mr. Green’s favour.During the three-year period, Mr. Green’s mental health had suffered from the challenges with Betfred.Mr. Green said, “Today’s decision by Mrs. Justice Foster makes it all worthwhile. Our justice system has delivered exactly the right result and it will give hope to others who may be thinking that the big, rich guys always win.”