Betfred: Blackjack Player Wins ₤ 1.7 m Jackpot After High Court Battle

Betfred: Blackjack player wins ₤ 1.7 m prize after High Court battle

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7 April 2021

A Betfred punter denied a ₤ 1.7 m prize over a supposed software application glitch has won a legal battle to declare the jackpots.

Andy Green, from Lincolnshire, scooped the reward in January 2018 while playing a blackjack game on his phone.

The bookie refused to pay out, claiming the error meant the video game was not running correctly.

High Court judge Mrs Justice Foster ruled in Mr Green's favour and stated the business had no premises for keeping payment.

The judgement means Mr Green, from Washingborough, will lastly get his payment, plus interest, after a three-year battle.

'Champagne prepared'

In a declaration, he stated the lengthy row over the payout had made him wish he 'd never ever won.

"Together with my family, I have actually been through some really low times and become really down," he said.

"My physical health has also suffered badly, and I sometimes wanted I 'd never won this cash, due to the fact that it was just making my life an anguish.

"But today, I seem like the world has actually been raised off my shoulders and I feel so extremely delighted and relieved - for me, my household and my legal team.

"The champagne can lastly come off ice and be savoured."

Betfred apologised for the delay in Mr Green getting his cash and stated it would not appeal against the ruling.

Speaking in 2018, he stated he had actually gone "absolutely crazy" after scooping the jackpot on the Frankie Dettori Magic Seven Blackjack video game.

Following the win, he extended his overdraft and invested more than ₤ 2,500 commemorating with family and buddies.

In her judgment, Mrs Justice Foster stated when he later called Betfred they "did not look for at this moment to suggest other than that he was a big winner".

But a few days later on, a Betfred director called him to state there had been a "software mistake" and it was turning down the claim.

Mr Green said he seemed like he had actually been kicked and had his "withins ripped out" after receiving the call.

After he challenged the yohaig code choice, the yohaig code company at one stage provided him ₤ 60,000 as a token of "goodwill" on the premises he concurred not to discuss it ever again, however he declined.

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In April 2019 he took his case to the High Court intending to sue Betfred and its parent company, Gibraltar-based Petfre, for ₤ 2m, to consist of the interest he would have made from the win.

Betfred had argued that the software problem, which stopped the game from resetting appropriately while Mr Green was playing, was covered under the terms of the yohaig code video game.

However, Mrs Justice Foster ruled that the phrasing of the yohaig code provisions relied upon was "insufficient", and "not transparent or reasonable and Betfred were not entitled to rely upon them".

A Betfred representative said: "Mr Green won the prize 3 times whilst playing a video game supplied by among our third-party suppliers.

"The provider reported a software application issue to us and recommended that we should keep payment.

"However, we will follow the court's decision and not appeal. We wish to apologise to Mr Green for the delay in getting his cash."

Mr Green's legal representative Peter Coyle said he was "thrilled" for his customer, including that the judgement would "give hope to others who might be thinking that the huge, abundant guys always win".

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