Gambler wins High Court battle against betting firm Betfred over its refusal to pay a £1.7m

A blackjack gambler is now a millionaire in waiting after winning a landmark High Court battle against Betfred after the bookmaker refused to pay him the £1.7million jackpot he won in their online casino.

Andrew Green, 54, has spent three years fighting to get his hands on the seven-figure sum he won by accumulating chips worth £1.7million while playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game on his phone in 2018.

Though he was congratulated by a member of staff from Betfred on his winnings, the father was told just days later the huge win had been due to a software malfunction which had stopped the game from resetting properly.

Mr Green was told that the ‘defect’ had allowed him  to keep building his prize money and had made the game more likely to keep paying out. 

After arguing his case, Betfred then offered him £60,000 as a ‘goodwill gesture’ which he turned down before launching a legal fight the following year.

Today, High Court judge Mrs Justice Foster ruled in Mr Green’s favour and said the company had no grounds for withholding payment.  

The judgement means Mr Green, from Lincolnshire, will finally receive his payout, plus interest, estimated to be around £2million.

However, Betfred was today unable to tell MailOnline when they would send him the cash, after confirming they would not be appealing the verdict. The bookmaker has been contacted for further information.

Speaking after today’s historic judgment, Mr Green said: ‘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.’ 

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

The incredible win value was shown in Andrew Green’s chips balance which was evidence

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.’

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.’

Mr Green, from Washingborough, celebrated for five days when he became a millionaire playing blackjack on the website

He won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game. 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.

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.

Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven game back in 2018

Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game back in 2018

‘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.

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, which is contesting the case, 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.’

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.’