High Court Rules Against Paddy Power in £1M Jackpot Dispute
A woman who was initially told her £1 million jackpot win was a technical mistake has declared she will “enjoy retirement” after a High Court judge ruled in her favor.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Corrine Durber, from Gloucestershire, won big in October 2020 while playing Wild Hatter, an online casino game with a fortune wheel jackpot bonus round. When she spun the jackpot wheel, her iPad screen displayed that she had won the “Monster Jackpot” worth £1,097,132.71.
Paddy Power Says Daily Jackpot Won
However, betting company Paddy Power only paid out £20,265, claiming she had actually won the smaller “Daily Jackpot”. The company said the discrepancy was due to a programming error that incorrectly displayed the larger prize.
However, Mrs Durber took legal action against PPB Entertainment Limited, which operates Paddy Power and Betfair, and accused them of breach of contract.
On Wednesday, Mr Justice Ritchie ruled in her favor without the need for a trial.
When a trader puts all the risk on a consumer for its own recklessness, negligence, errors, inadequate digital services and inadequate testing, that appears onerous to me.
In an interview, Durber described the ruling as life-changing and said that she would use the money to pay her children’s mortgages and enjoy retirement with her husband.
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What You See Is What You Get
Paddy Power argued that the game’s random number generator had determined she won only the smaller prize and that a display error had incorrectly shown the larger jackpot. The judge, however, said that the principle of “what you see is what you get” should apply. The judge stated the following:
Objectively, customers would want and expect what was to be shown to them on-screen to be accurate and correct. The same expectation probably applies when customers go into a physical casino and play roulette. They expect the house to pay out on the roulette wheel if they bet on number 13 and the ball lands on number 13.
He noted that a human error in mapping the software had caused incorrect results in 14 instances over 48 days.
Following the verdict, Durber said that she was both relieved and happy and questioned why Paddy Power wouldn’t pay immediately rather than subjecting her to “legal torment”.
A spokesperson for Paddy Power said that they “strive to provide the best customer experience possible and pride ourselves on fairness.” The spokesperson added that they “regret” this case and that they will review the judgement.
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