Betfred ordered to pay blackjack player $2.3m in winnings

The High Court of England and Wales has ruled that bookmaker Betfred must pay a Lincolnshire player £1.7m ($2.3m) he previously won in blackjack on all slots online casino. The bookmaker had previously withheld the amount due to an alleged software glitch.

A statement from Betfred said: 'Mr Green won the jackpot three times in a game provided by one of our third-party suppliers. The partner informed us of the casino gaming software problem and advised us to delay payment. However, we will abide by the court's decision and have no intention of appealing. We would like to apologise to Mr Green for the delay."

The episode dates back to January 2018, when 54-year-old Andrew Green, a resident of the small British village of Washborough, won a jackpot on blackjack app Frankie Dettori's Magic Seven. However, the bookmaker eventually refused to pay out the money, claiming some sort of programming error. Instead, the company offered Green compensation of £60,000 on the condition that he sign a non-disclosure agreement and promise not to involve the press in the event.

Green refused such terms and in April 2019 he filed a £2m claim at the High Court in London against Betfred's partner, Gibraltar-based Petfred. With this, he wanted to cover interest on his withheld winnings. The authority took a long time to consider the claim but eventually ruled in favour of the applicant. The High Court ruled that Betfred must fulfil its contractual obligations.

"Along with my family, I have gone through a very difficult time and have become very depressed. My physical health also suffered a lot. Sometimes I regretted winning the money because it made my life miserable. But today I feel like the whole world has fallen off my shoulders. It's an incredibly happy moment. You can take the champagne out of the ice and savor it," Green told the BBC.