UK gambler sues Betfred for £1.7 million

Betfred is being sued for £1.7 million after a British man was denied the withdrawal of his winnings back in 2018.  The plaintiff is currently seeking summary judgment in the High Court. 

The man in question, Andy Green from Lincolnshire, said that he hit a jackpot by playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven Blackjack with Betfred in January 2018.   His account was credited with the amount but when he tried to withdraw the money, his request was denied.  Following this, he made additional bets with his winnings and tried to withdraw the rest.  He was denied once again and took a screenshot after to prove that he was not able to withdraw the rest of the amount.  

Betfred refused to pay out his winnings on grounds that this was a result of a software glitch which made the game more likely to pay out winnings higher than intended.  Betfred mentioned that in accordance with its terms and conditions,  it has the right to void all pays and plays in an event of a malfunction. The operator pointed out that Mr. Green had agreed to its terms by ticking the terms and conditions box.  However, the plaintiff’s lawyers argue otherwise.  

Peter Coyle, one of Mr. Green’s lawyers, mentioned that though Betfred’s terms and conditions were incredibly complicated and span across numerous different documents, his team is confident that, on their proper construction, the terms simply don’t allow for Betfred to withhold payment.  He further explained that if all pays and plays were void, then Betfred would have refunded other customers but the company had produced no evidence that it had happened as It only wanted to withhold Mr Green’s enormous win.  He went on to say that despite his requests, neither Betfred nor Playtech have produced evidence that the game had a glitch at all nor did Playtech notify the Gambling Commission of any glitch in the game.

Mr. Green claimed that he was offered a £30,000 payment as a token of goodwill as long as he agreed not to bring up or talk about the incident. However, Mr. Green refused the offer.  He then claimed that the bookmaker increased it to £60,000, which he also refused.  He further went on to express that Betfred treated him very poorly throughout the entire ordeal and that the past years since he won the prize but was not able to collect it, felt like hell on earth.  

The plaintiff is suing Betfred for £2 million which includes interest gained over two years.  His legal team is seeking a summary judgement from the High Court while Betfred is seeking for a full trial.   As it stands, the judge has a reserved judgment over the matter and will announce this at a later date.  Judgement can be made in favour of either party without a trial or a trial can be arranged in the future.  

Recently a High Court Case case was also brought against Ladbrokes Coral where a gambler from Aberdeen, Scotland is suing for over £3.3 million due to illegal bets made in Spain.