Betfred refuses to pay out £1.7MILLION jackpot to punter who blew thousands celebrating win in local boozer – ‘because of software glitch’
The dad-of-two from Lincolnshire began playing Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven game with £100 and worked his way up to the big win
A GAMBLER is suing a betting company that is refusing to pay out a £1.7 million jackpot — because it claims a computer glitch caused the win.
Andrew Green, 52, splashed out while celebrating after becoming a millionaire playing a game on Betfred’s website.
But five days later the bookie told him he would not be receiving the cash because there had been a “software malfunction”.
The dad-of-two turned down a £60,000 settlement, which required a nondisclosure agreement, and is now fighting his case in the High Court.
He told: “They [Betfred] are quick to take people’s money but when it comes to paying out they offered money as a gagging agreement.
“How many are there out there who have signed similar agreements?”
Andrew said: “I’ve been bullied. I’m just a fish in a big sea and they are a great big shark but I’m not going to be forced away just because they are worth billions and I’m not.
“Even if there was a glitch I did nothing wrong. I played that game and pressed a button.”
Back in January Andrew, of Washingborough, Lincolnshire, started playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven with a £100 stake.
He lost almost all of his money to the online game but managed to work his way up from £3 to £600,000.
But one final play won him the £1.7million jackpot, he claims.
Jubilant Andrew spent £2,500 as he toasted his new-found fortune down the pub.
But Betfred later voided the win, claiming there was a glitch in the “new game release”.
Peter Coyle, Andrew’s solicitor, claims the company has refused repeated requests to provide evidence of the computer problem.
A preliminary High Court hearing was told this week the company did not have the game data and so could not force the game developer to hand it over.
A spokesman for Betfred said: “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.”
In 2016, Betfred was forced to remove a slot game from their site after a punter was falsely told he won £30,000.
Jamie Gardiner, from Kirkby, Liverpool, was playing the “Land of Gold” game when he got three clovers.
A pop up then appeared saying “Win: £29,466.59”.
The 24-year-old was over the moon but soon become concerned when the cash was not credited to his online Betfred account.
Mr Gardiner said he’d won money in the same way before before, but Betfred insisted it wasn’t legitimate.
At the time, he said: ‘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.”
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