Blackjack gambler who won £1.7m with Betfred but never received a penny after firm blamed software glitch could be days away from getting his winnings at High Court
A blackjack gambler who won £1.7million with Betfred but never received his payout after the company blamed a 'software glitch' could be days from getting his winnings.
Single father Andrew Green, 53, has been battling with the company for more than two years, trying to get the winnings he says he won fair and square.
Mr Green, from Washingborough, Lincolnshire, celebrated for five days when he thought he had become a millionaire while playing blackjack on the website.
But his dreams were crushed when the company claimed there had been a 'software malfunction' which led to the jackpot so his winning were void.
Blackjack gambler Andrew Green, 53, who won £1.7million with Betfred but never received his payout after the company blamed a 'software glitch' could be days from getting his winnings
Mr Green claims no evidence has ever been presented to confirm the software problem and is now suing the company at the High Court next week.
He said: '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.
'Then after five days I got a phone call out of the blue, saying there had been a software glitch which caused the £1.7million payout and so they would not be paying me.
Mr Green has been battling with the company for more than two years, trying to get the winnings he says he won fair and square
'In this time I have never received any evidence of this glitch.' Mr Green said he was then offered £60,000 with a non-disclosure agreement but turned it down.
In January, 2018, Mr Green won the £1.7million jackpot playing Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven game.
He even 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.
Mr Green said: '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'
'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.
'I was so lucky to win something like that to then go to complete devastation by having it ripped away from you.
'When I won the one thing I wanted to do more than anything was to give my sister some of it. She died last year.
'That money would have made her life easier, be able to go on holiday with her girls and make some memories for them but Betfred even managed to rip that dream from me.'
In January, 2018, Mr Green won the £1.7million jackpot playing Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven game (Mr Green is pictured playing the game)
Mr Green said the fight which he has described as a constant battle has caused stress, anxiety and upset.
He said: 'It's been horrendous. There's been times when I wished I had not even won the money.
'Having to get to this stage of the High Court has been a worry. Am I finally going to be a millionaire or am I going to be left feeling absolutely gutted again and will I need to take it even further?
'I just feel robbed.'
Mr Green's lawyers said if Betfred lose, this will be a groundbreaking ruling because their terms and conditions have never before been subject to any judicial scrutiny before.
If his application to the High Court is successful, Betfred will be ordered to pay out more than £2million - including nearly three years interest on his jackpot plus all of his legal costs.
If Mr Green loses, there will be costs to pay to Betfred, but he will not lose his right to a full trial where technical evidence of the alleged malfunction could be brought forward for the first time.
Andy's solicitor, Peter Coyle, of Coyle White Devine, said: 'An application for summary judgement is a high risk strategy because we have to satisfy the judge that Betfred has no chance at all of defending its position at a full trial.
'To do that, we have to accept Betfred's case as it's been presented to the court; namely that the blackjack game malfunctioned in some way.
'Whilst Betfred's betting terms and conditions are incredibly complicated and span across numerous different documents, we are confident that, on their proper construction, the terms simply don't allow for Betfred to withhold payment when the alleged glitch is within Playtech's game and not Betfred's own software.'
A spokesman from Betfred said: 'The case is currently progressing at court and it is therefore inappropriate for us to comment further.'
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