JACKPOT JOY
Betfred gambler wins £1.7MILLION High Court battle after betting firm refused to pay out jackpot on online casino
A BETFRED gambler has won £1.7MILLION in a High Court battle after the betting firm refused to pay out on his jackpot.
Andrew Green, 54, was refused the money he won on Betfred's online casino because of a "glitch" - but now he says that "justice" has been served.
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Speaking after the judgment in his favour, Mr Green said today: "I'm numb, very numb.
"Pleased it's over and done with, still so unreal. I don't know what to say, it's just unreal, we finally got it to an end, there's relief."
He continued: "This to me today isn't just a win for me, it's a win for everybody that they can't treat people like this.
"People who use these platforms hopefully will realise with my story there is justice out there and don't be bullied by these people and in the end, justice will be theirs, it will happen as it has for me.
"I did nothing wrong, I played a game, I was congratulated for five days on being a millionaire, and then it was snatched away from me."
Betfred may be ordered to pay out more than £2million, including nearly three years interest on his jackpot, plus all of his legal costs.
The gambler blew thousands celebrating after being told he had hit the jackpot in the bookie's Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game.
Mr Green, who spent £2,500 toasting his fortune down the pub in 2018, has battled for more than two years to be paid for his win, which Betfred blamed on a software glitch.
'HAPPY AND RELIEVED'
The single dad from Washingborough, Lincs, claims no evidence has ever been given to confirm the website issue.
He previously said he felt as though he had been "robbed".
Mr Green said in a statement after winning the court case: "The last three years have felt like hell on Earth.
"I think Betfred have treated me abysmally, but it's not about Betfred today - I'm just ecstatic to have eventually won my case.
";Along with my family, I have been through some very low times and become very down.
"My physical health has also suffered badly, and I sometimes wished I'd never won this money, because it was just making my life a misery.
"But today, I feel like the world has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel so incredibly happy and relieved - for me, my family and my legal team.
"The champagne can finally come off ice and be savoured!"
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Andrew Green's solicitor Peter Coyle, of law firm Coyle White Devine, said: "I am absolutely thrilled for Andy and his family.
"Over the last three years I think I've done as much counselling as I've given legal advice, as Andy's mental resilience has been tested by Betfred to its very limit.
"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."
Speaking last year, Mr Green told : “They have no reason not to pay me in my opinion. If there was a glitch, that’s between Betfred and the software provider.
“When I won, Betfred congratulated me on being a millionaire and they did so for five days.
“They led me to think I was one, even advising me to open a number of bank accounts to spread my winnings across with it being such a vast amount.
JACKPOT JOY
“Then, after five days, I got a phone call out of the blue, saying there had been a software glitch which caused the £1.7m payout and so they would not be paying me.
"In this time I have never received any evidence of this glitch.”
Mr Green won the £1.7million jackpot back in January 2018 playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game.
He carried on playing after winning the jackpot and won £423 to round the figure of his total winnings up to £1,722,923.54.
He said: “I could not believe what I had won. I phoned Betfred and even got them to read back to me the final figure and that’s when they first congratulated me.
“I thought all my Christmases had come at once.
“I am a single parent, I’ve had four heart attacks and received heart treatment 11 times and all of a sudden I thought my life was going to be a lot better.
“Ever since those first five days, it’s been an absolute nightmare."
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Mr Green said Betfred had offered him £60,000 with a non-disclosure agreement to settle the case, but he turned it down.
He said today that his victory may not sink in for weeks, adding: "People keep coming up and congratulating me on being a millionaire but I think it's going to take a long time."
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