Currently in the UK’s online gambling arena, the High Court is about to hand down its decision on the £1.7 million lawsuit filed by a British punter versus Betfred.
After two years of court cases proceedings, a 52-year old British gambler named Andrew Green, of North Hykeham in Lincolnshire, will finally know the UK High Court’s decision. If the magistrates rule in his favor, he will become the millionaire he had expected to become when he won the jackpot prize from Playtech’s ‘Frankie Dettori Magic Seven Blackjack’
Still, his lawyer Peter Coyle, gave advice that until the decision has been handed, Green should refrain from getting his hopes high because the case vs. Betfred, while seemingly air-tight can still go the other way.
Presumably, the lawyer just doesn’t want his client to go through the same experience he had two year ago when after Betfred confirmed his jackpot winning, Green took to celebrating the win with his family and friends. According to Mr. Green, he spent about £2.5k, since Betfred had already credited the £1.7 million prize in his account, whilst at the same time conveyed congratulatory messages.
Based on the circumstances surrounding the case filed by Andrew Green, many online gambling customers believe that the punter has a strong case against Betfred.
The Green vs. Betfred Case
There is currently a high level of interest in the forthcoming decision of the UK High Court on the Green vs. Betfred case. Apparently, the outcome will impact how customers will regard the fairness of the UK’s online gambling industry as a whole, as well as the effectiveness of the UK Gambling Commission’s protection of customers.
According to Andrew Green:
The Playtech game ‘Frankie Dettori Magic Seven Blackjack’ did not exhibit or indicate any malfunction while he was playing and up to the time he won the jackpot.
The people at Betfred confirmed his winning and after carrying out the standard verification processes, sent Andre Green a congratulatory message. At the same time Green’s Betfred account was credited with the £1.7 million jackpot money.
Betfred later informed Green that the jackpot win was invalid, offering no other explanation than “software glitch” As a result, the British punter was not able to withdraw the £1.7 million prize since Betfred took it back after denying Green his supposed winnings.
While Green asserted that the Playtech game did not exhibit any malfunction or error while he was playing, he demanded that Betred show proof of the error.
Instead of presenting proof of the alleged software glitch, Betfred offered Andrew Green a £60,000 Non-Disclosure Agreement as a way to settle the issue. The British punter rejected the offer as he firmly believed he won the jackpot fair and square.
Through his lawyer, Green contested Betfred’s assertion that under the online casino’s Terms and Conditions, Betfredd reserves the right to void “all pays and plays’ in the event of software malfunction. Green asserted that if indeed the software malfunctioned, then Betfred should have voided all winnings received by other players who were also playing the game at the time of the alleged malfunction.
Moreover, under the UK Gambling Commission’s regulatory guidelines, game providers are required to submit a report about any software glitch affecting the online casino games being offered by site operators. Upon verification withf the UK Gambling Commission, Playtech had not submitted any such report before and even after the cited malfunction was used as reason in denying Green his winnings.
Even Asian gamblers, particularly in Indonesia, are anticipating the UK High Court’s ruling. After all, they are taking greater risks when playing at online casinos they consider as Judi Online Terpercaya or trusted online gambling sites. Inasmuch as Indonesia’s predominantly Muslim government does not recognize gambling activities as legal, there is no law in place to protect them in similar incidents as the Betfred software-glitch fiasco.