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A UK High Court has ruled in favor of a Gloucestershire gardener who sued the sportsbook for withholding her £1 million jackpot win.
The incident occurred in October 2020 while Corrine Durber was playing the online slot game The Wild Hatter. The game, which features an Alice in Wonderland theme, blends both fruit machine and wheel-of-fortune-style gaming in two different parts.
Durber advanced to the second part, where she spun the jackpot wheel and landed a £1,097,132.71 Monster Jackpot prize that was clearly displayed on her iPad screen. However, Paddy Power only paid her £20,265.14, claiming that a system error had led to the wrong prize being displayed.
After contacting Paddy Power, Durber was told that the £1 million win was due to a software error and that she actually won the “Daily Jackpot” prize. They went on to blame the error on human programming and withheld the payment.
Durber rejected the explanation and filed a lawsuit against PPB Entertainment Limited, the operators of Paddy Power and Betfair, for breach of contract. She contended that she was entitled to receive the full amount shown on her screen.
After a lengthy deliberation, a court judge granted summary judgment in favor of Durber, halting the case from advancing to a full trial. She was represented by Coyle White Devine, a firm that had previously handled a similar issue for Andy Green. His payout was also withheld by BetFred due to a ‘computer glitch’, but he ultimately secured £1.7 million in a High Court judgment in 2021.
Operators Must Bear the Burden of Programming Errors
The case was presided over by Justice Andrew Ritchie, who criticised the company for trying to shift the burden of its own mistakes onto players. He stated that it was unreasonable for them to expect players to bear the consequences of human programming errors made by operators.
Justice Ritchie also emphasized the importance of maintaining the “what you see is what you get” principle in the gambling environment.
“I will never bet with them ever again”
Speaking after the ruling, Durber expressed her relief and happiness with the Judge’s decision, stating, “I fairly and squarely won £1 million from Paddy Power.”
She questioned, “But why couldn’t Paddy Power pay up straight away instead of putting me through this legal torment? I will never bet with them ever again, and I advise others to be very careful too.”
Durber went on to criticize the company, accusing them of being deceitful and trying their very best to deny her of her rightful winnings. “What’s the point in betting if betting companies like Paddy Power won’t pay up when someone wins a big jackpot?” she added.
Following the ruling, a spokesperson for Flutter UKI, the parent company of Paddy Power, reached out to Sky News to express regret over the situation. The anonymous representative emphasized the company’s commitment to fairness and ensuring an exceptional experience for its players.
He also confirmed that Paddy Power will review the court’s decision and begin work on the next steps.
Source: Next.io
