Andrew Green, a 52-year-old father of two from Lincolnshire, couldn’t believe his luck when he hit a jackpot prize of £1.7m, by playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven title at Betfred, but it wasn’t going to be plain-sailing for the lucky punter…
After depositing £100 and whittling £97 of it on the jackpot slot game, Andrew managed to claw back his cash to £600,000, but it was about to reach new heights.
One final play saw a jackpot prize of £1.7m being won and Andrew was gobsmacked – even more so when he had a call from Betfred five days later – yes, five days after winning! What took them so long? Shortly after winning, Andrew decided to celebrate by extending the overdraft on his account and splashing £2,500 on celebrations with friends and family, but the good times were about to come to an abrupt end.
It Was an Error:
According to Betfred, the jackpot win was due to a software glitch and the company offered Mr Green a £60,000 settlement…
…But this settlement came with terms; he had to sign a nondisclosure agreement!
You won’t be surprised to hear that the settlement was turned down and now, Andrew has taken the gambling operator to court. He told the BBC; “They (Betfred) are quick to take people's money but when it comes to paying out they offered money as a gagging agreement. They have buried their head in the sand. How many are there out there who have signed similar agreements?”
Andrew concluded with; “Over the last ten years how do I know all the money I lost wasn't from glitches in the game and they've taken my money?”
A spokesperson for Betfred said there was an error with the game, but Andrew doesn’t see why he should be punished for their mistakes!
“Betfred loves to pay out all our jackpot winners, both big and small. Unfortunately, and as Mr Green is aware, a new game release suffered a software malfunction in January this year and no legitimate jackpot win occurred. Given that Mr Green is currently exploring his legal options, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further,” said a Betfred spokesperson, but this has had no impact on Mr Green…
…Despite winning the controversial jackpot in January, the preliminary hearing took place recently - on Monday 19th November.
Betfred Déjà Vu:
In 2016, Betfred came under fire once again, when Jamie Gardiner from Liverpool, was told he won almost £30,000 by playing the Land of Gold slot machine…
…A win line consisting of three clovers and two mushrooms appeared alongside a message saying he had won £29,466.59p, but the cash was not credited to his account. Betfred claims the win wasn’t legitimate. Jamie said on his glitch-win; “I play all the time and I know when it comes up there it is meant to go straight into your balance. I got two mushrooms and three clovers and whenever you get three clovers you are credited with the jackpot.”
Jamie concluded; “I put £100 a week into that site which is taken from my bank account immediately, but they just won't pay out for me, it's like a big kick in the face. I would be able to get a mortgage and go on a nice holiday. There is no way this was a potential win and not an actual win. People would kill themselves over this.”
Source: Smith, Louie. “Betfred refuses to pay out £1.7million to punter who blew thousands celebrating” https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/betfred-refuses-pay-out-17mlllion-13628201. Mirror. November 22, 2018.
