Betfred Refuses To Pay Out £1.7 Million Winnings To Man Who Blew Thousands Celebrating

What do you do when you win a £1.7 million ($2.19 million) jackpot? That's right, you go absolutely apeshit.

And what do you do if you are then told that your jackpot win didn't count? That is right, you go absolutely apeshit.

This is exactly what happened to Andrew Green, who won the huge jackpot playing Betfred online blackjack game, Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven.

The 52-year-old from Lincolnshire, said he confirmed the win with Betfred before going 'absolutely crazy', extending his overdraft and spending thousands celebrating at the pub. But a few days later, he was contacted by the betting company's head office, who said there had been a 'software malfunction' and 'no legitimate jackpot win occurred'.

BBC

The dad-of-two turned down a £60,000 ($77,000) out of court settlement, containing a non-disclosure agreement, according to the Mirror, and is now fighting his case in High Court.

According to the newspaper, he said: "They [Betfred] are quick to take people's money but when it comes to paying out they offered money as a gagging agreement.

"They have buried their head in the sand. How many are there out there who have signed similar agreements?

"I've been bullied. I'm just a fish in a big sea and they are a great big shark but I'm not going to be forced away just because they are worth billions and I'm not.

"Even if there was a glitch I did nothing wrong. I played that game and pressed a button."

Whether or not there was a glitch is currently unclear, but what we do know for sure is that Mr Green 'pressed a button'. In fact, he says he played the game for six hours prior to his big win, so that's a hypothetical hourly rate of £283,333.33 ($364,900) for button pressing. That's more than Pogba's on.

Peter Coyle, Mr Green's solicitor, said the betting company had refused repeated requests to provide evidence of the glitch.

According to the Manchester Evening News, he said: "I'm going to take this all the way. Andy has been through a lot because of this. I'm going to fight tooth and nail."

In response, a Betfred spokesman said: "Betfred loves to pay out all our jackpot winners - both big and small.

"Unfortunately, and as Mr Green is aware, a new game release suffered a software malfunction in January this year and no legitimate jackpot win occurred.

"Given that Mr Green is currently exploring his legal options, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."

Topics: UK News

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey