A British online casino player won a three-year court battle against gambling operator Betfred, which had refused to pay out a £1.7 million jackpot he won in 2018 due to a “defect” in the game played by the man.

In January 2018, Andrew Green played Playtech’s Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven Blackjack with a gaming platform hosted by Betfred. He told court that after a long playing session on his phone, he found out that his account was credited with a £1,722,923.54 prize.

He believed he was a millionaire for the next five days, but when he tried to withdraw his winnings, Betfred refused to process his request. Mr. Green played several bets with his winnings and took a screenshot to prove that he was not able to withdraw the rest of the money.

A Betfred employee reached out to the online casino player to inform him that his claim to the hefty prize was rejected as it was the result of a “defect” in the game that made it more likely to pay out higher wins than what it is originally designed to.

The British bookmaker also told Mr. Green that under its Terms and Conditions, a document spanning 49 pages, it had the right to void all “pays and plays” if they were the result of a technical glitch or malfunction. Betfred pointed out that when he had opened an account with the operator, Mr. Green had agreed to these T&Cs.

Court Sides with Gambler

Mr. Green brought the issue to the High Court of London and on Wednesday Mrs Justice Foster ruled in his favor, saying that a certain terms and conditions set out by the gambling operator were “just not apt to cover the circumstances of this case at all.”

After three years that the casino player said had felt “like hell on earth”, he will receive his £1.7 million win, plus interest.

In a statement after his victory in court, Mr. Green said that he was treated abysmally by Betfred and that he was “ecstatic” to have finally won his case. He further noted that this was “not just a win for me, but a win for everybody in a similar position.”

A spokesperson for Betfred said that Mr. Green won a jackpot three times while playing the above-mentioned blackjack game and that Playtech reported a software problem to the operator and advised that it withhold payment. However, the company said it would “abide by the court’s decision and not appeal” and apologized to its player for “the delay in receiving his money.”