A blackjack gambler today won a landmark High Court battle against Betfred after the online betting firm refused to pay out his £1.7million jackpot.
Single parent Andrew Green, 54, has spent three years fighting to get his hands on the seven-figure prize he won by accumulating chips while playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game on his phone in January 2018.
Though he was congratulated by a member of staff from Betfred on his winnings, the betting shop said just five days later it would not pay out the sum, claiming he only won because of an alleged software glitch.
Betfred claimed a malfunction had prevented the game from resetting properly, meaning Mr Green, from Washingborough, Lincolnshire, would have seen his money grow exponentially had he continued playing.
Instead, the bookmaker allegedly offered Mr Green a £60,000 ‘goodwill gesture’ on condition that he remained quiet – a deal the father turned down before launching a three-year legal fight to reclaim his winnings.
Today, High Court judge Mrs Justice Foster ruled that Betfred had no grounds for withholding payment from Mr Green. The judgement means he will finally receive the payout plus interest, estimated to be around £2million.
Betfred has now apologised to Mr Green for the delay in paying out, and said it will not appeal against the judgment. However, a spokesperson was unable to tell MailOnline when Mr Green would be sent the cash.
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Mr Green called the ordeal ‘hell on earth’ and said the row had made him wish he had never won.
Andrew Green outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, where he sued Betfred
The incredible win value was shown in Andrew Green’s chips balance which was evidence
Andrew Green outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after he won a High Court fight against Betfred’s refusal to pay a £1.7million jackpot he won in an online casino
Mr Green told reporters outside the High Court: ‘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.’
‘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.’
He added: ‘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.’
Speaking in 2018, Mr Green said he had gone ‘absolutely crazy’ after scooping the jackpot on the Frankie Dettori Magic Seven Blackjack game.
Following the win, he extended his overdraft and spent more than £2,500 celebrating with family and friends.
But his dreams were crushed five days later when Betfred claimed there had been a ‘software malfunction’ which led to the jackpot so his winning were void.
Mr Green said in 2018 that he had suffered four heart attacks, received heart treatment 11 times and thought the winnings would make his life ‘a lot better’.
The single parent also revealed that he wanted to give some of the £1.7million to his sister who later passed away, so she could take her girls on holiday.
Appearing on The One Show on the BBC, Mr Green said that he and his then partner had been looking at cars when a representative for Betfred said that they would not be honouring the jackpot.
Speaking after today’s ruling, he said: ‘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.’
Mr Green encouraged others who have fallen foul of betting firm rules to challenge them and said his case showed that it is possible to get justice.
Mr Green’s case is not an isolated one, as the Independent Betting Adjudication Service revealed that they dealt with more than 7,800 disputes in 2017.
At a hearing in October, Mr Green’s lawyers asked Mrs Justice Foster to either rule in his favour or strike out Betfred’s defence to his claim.
Lawyers for Betfred argued the dispute should be resolved at a full trial.
But Mrs Justice Foster ruled in Mr Green’s favour, finding that one of the terms and conditions set out by Betfred in the game, which was relied on by the firm in its defence to the claim, was ‘just not apt to cover the circumstances of this case at all’.
She said: ‘It is not dealing with the failure to pay out winnings at all. Nor is it dealing with a fault or glitch or programming mistake that is undetectable to either party.’
The judge added: ‘I am of the clear view that these clauses in the terms and conditions are inadequate to exempt Betfred from the obligation to pay out on an ostensibly winning bet or series of bets.’
Andrew Green, with his barrister James Couser (left) and solicitor Peter Coyle (right), outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London
Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game back in 2018
She also concluded that none of the terms seeking to exclude liability were ‘sufficiently brought to the attention of Mr Green so as to be incorporated in the gaming contracts he entered with Betfred’.
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.’
A Betfred spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Mr Green won the jackpot three times whilst playing a game provided by one of our third-party suppliers.
‘The supplier reported a software problem to us and advised that we should withhold payment.
‘However, we will abide by the court’s decision and not appeal. We would like to apologise to Mr Green for the delay in receiving his money.’
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