Andrew Green, a now 53 old gamblers from the United Kingdom, is going to High Court next week to try and settle a £1.7-million voided jackpot case against Betfred.

The £1.7m Betfred Lawsuit Awaits High Court Decision

Two years ago, British gambler Andrew Green, 53, problems with established gaming giant Betfred began. Mr. Green is now going to try and solve the case in High Court as early as next week.

In a lawsuit, Mr. Green claimed that he won the funds fairly, and that, a reported Betfred’s technical error was a matter between the company and their software provider. He won £1.7 million playing blackjack in January 2018.

When Mr. Green won, Betfred paid respects, informing him that he had become a millionaire. The company continued to shower him with congratulatory messages and offered financial advice.

Before long, Mr. Green had begun to feel like an actual millionaire, reassured by Betfred and the amount won in blackjack. It was all going well until Betfred had discovered a software malfunction that occurred on an external software provider, and had to void his winnings.

Mr. Green, however, argued that there was no actual evidence of the software glitch, and specifically that he had not experienced any issue with his session. He had this to say cited by The Daily Mail:

“They have no reason not to pay me in my opinion. If there was a glitch, that’s between Betfred and the software provider.”

Mr. Green explained that he had felt like a millionaire as the company kept sending financial advice on how to manage his funds. Five days after the win, however, Mr. Green was approached with Betfred informing him about the glitch.

A Non-Disclosure Settlement and the Legal Case against Betfred

He was reportedly offered a £60,000, The Daily Mail and The Mirror reported and a non-disclosure agreement. He turned it down, explaining that before the call he had even called Betfred to confirm his win over the phone.

Mr. Green, a single parent who has been through four heart attacks, said that he was hoping that his life would change for the better following the announcement. He even spent £2,500, on celebrating the success with friends, and extending his bank overdraft in anticipation of the prize amount.

Mr. Green blamed the company for a lot of his misfortunes ever since that call. He had hoped that with the money from the win, he would have been able to buy a holiday for his late sister. He argued that the litigation has brought him stress, anxiety, and upset so far and that the entire ordeal has been horrendous.

According to Mr. Green’s lawyers, the case is pivotal for Betfred as a company as well. It would be the first time Betfred’s terms and conditions are undergoing this amount of scrutiny, putting the company in an interesting position.

Betfred Has a Case, Say Mr. Green’s Lawyers

Should Mr. Green turn out to be successful in High Court, though, Betfred will have to pay over £2 million, which includes interest and his legal expenditures. If he loses, he can still go to full trial and ask Betfred to prove the alleged technical malfunction.

His solicitor, Peter Coyle, acknowledged that the situation his client faces is difficult, because he has to “satisfy the judge that Betfred has no chance at all of defending its position at a full trial.”

Mr. Coyle also said that Betfred’s terms and conditions are complicated and amounted to stacks of documents. However, his client’s legal position is that the terms don’t allow Betfred to void payment even if the reported glitch happened on Playtech’s platform, and not Betfred’s own software.

Betfred has so far not commented much on the case, other than to inform that it would be inappropriate to make a statement as the case is still in progress. However, in a comment for The Independent, the company reassured that it loved paying out jackpots.

The company simply reminded that the error had occurred on Playtech’s platform and therefore Mr. Green’s win was not legitimate.