Gambler who was denied £1.7m online blackjack win by Betfred would have made £500million if he had kept playing due to computer glitch, bookmaker tells High Court
- Andrew Green, 54, from Lincolnshire, won £1.7 million from Betfred in Jan 2018
- The betting shop has refused to pay out claiming there was a ‘glitch’ in software
- Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game
A gambler who was never paid the £1.7 million he won from Betfred could have pocketed £500 million if he kept playing online blackjack, the High Court heard today.
Andrew Green, 54, has been battling the bookies for the pay-out since hitting the jackpot in January 2018.
The betting shop claims there was a ‘glitch’ in the software and Mr Green would have seen his money grow exponentially had he continued playing.
The bookie’s lawyer Richard Osborne argued a ‘pays and plays’ clause means winnings are void if a machine malfunctions.
Before explaining the rules, Mr Osborne asked the judge an ‘impertinent question*. I wonder if you’re familiar with blackjack?’
Andrew Green outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, where he is suing Betfred for a £1.7 million win on a blackjack game, which was withheld by the bookmaker
Mrs Justice Alison Foster, chuckled and replied: ‘If I were, would I admit it?’
‘It looked to me like 21s or some such but more sophisticated. Assume I played cards but it was a long time ago.’
The lawyer explained there were ‘trophy cards’ which dramatically increase a player’s pot.
‘My learned friend [James Couser for Mr Green] talks about*this was one lucky event.
‘The defect was the trophy cards weren’t being reset.
‘What’s meant to happen is there are a given number of trophy cards, they are in each hand and they are reset after.
Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game (pictured)
Here Mr Green’s chip balance reads at £1,722,500 – which the bookmaker refused to pay out
‘Because of the defect the trophy cards weren’t being reset.. More and more trophy cards went in and none ever went away.
‘Eventually every single card in the deck would have been a trophy.
‘Mr Green played for an hour and a half and the trophy cards grew and grew.
‘Three times he won 7,000 times his stake.
‘The reason we’re not discussing a £50 million or £500 million pound claim is because Mr Green stopped.
‘As long as he was playing his number was going up and up and up. He could eventually win 7,000 times his stake as many times as he chose.
Mr Green outside the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London
‘My learned friend says it is unfair or onerous for Betfred to say in that situation we want to protect ourselves, not have to pay out.’
The judge replied: ‘The case against you is there are ways of protecting yourself from an enormous catastrophic loss that may be caused by something that’s remedial* and you didn’t take them.
‘Mr Couser says this clause does not work for this purpose.’
Mr Osborne replied: ‘My learned friend makes the submission that Betfred should have tested this better* but there’s a whole regime around that.
‘We all know software can contain errors and defects.
The bookmaker claims that glitch meant that ‘trophy cards’ were mistakenly added to the deck
‘These cards were meant to be random and they weren’t.’
Mr Green won the £1.7million 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.
Mr Green, from Washingborough, Lincolnshire, is suing Befred and its parent company, Gibraltar-based Petre for £2 million including interest.
The hearing continues