A single father who won a landmark High Court battle against bookies Betfred after it refused to pay out his £1.7million jackpot has revealed he will never gamble again.
Andrew Green, 54, vowed to turn his back on betting forever after the harrowing courtroom battle left him sleepless and ill from stress.
Speaking to MailOnline, he told how if his legal action had failed he would have lost his home and been left bankrupt and penniless.
And despite a judge ruling he was to have his £1.7million prize finally awarded he still has not received it – so celebrated his triumph with just a £10 pizza and bottle of Coke.
When he finally does get his jackpot bonanza he will spend it paying off his mortgage, getting new windows and talking his three children on holiday.
His three-and-a-half ordeal was finally brought to a close yesterday after the High Court decided in his favour.
Mr Green, who runs a metal coating business with his brother, admitted tough nights during the pandemic, when he shielded over a heart condition, when all he could think about was the case.
But he declared he would do it all over again if he had to, because he is an ‘honest guy’ who ‘would not be bullied.
Mr Green, who lives in Lincoln, told MailOnline: ‘I will never gamble again, just because of the experience I have had.
Andrew Green outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after he won his High Court fight
Mr Green won the £1.7million playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game back in 2018
The screengrab which showed that Mr Queen had won the huge amount on the betting app
‘When I did have a little flutter I believed if I did win it would be paid out to me, but unfortunately I have found out what a battle it is to get your money.
‘It has been very stressful, it has costed me finances I did not have to fund the court case, it has been a gruelling battle.
‘It has been stress which has made me very unwell at times.
‘I had to pay for things like having the case heard, hotels to stay here for the case.
‘If I had lost it would have bankrupted me, I would have lost the house, my vehicles, everything.
‘The last three years, it has been a mental battle in my own head, but all the time I thought I had done nothing wrong.
‘I felt all along I was in the right and for the last week I did have a feeling the judge was going to find in my favour.
‘I couldn’t believe it was finally over after three and a half years. After it was announced, I actually couldn’t sleep last night because so much was going through head.
Down to earth millionaire Andrew Green outside Buckingham Palace this morning after win
‘I don’t have the money yet, it has yet to be decided by the judge. I didn’t really celebrate, I had a two litre bottle of coke and a pizza last night, that was all. I’m not a big champagne drinker.’
Mr Green won the huge sum by accumulating chips while playing Frankie Dettori’s Magic Seven game on his phone in January 2018.
He was congratulated by a member of staff from Betfred on his winnings, the betting shop said just five days later it would not pay out the sum, claiming he only won because of an alleged software glitch.
Betfred claimed a malfunction had prevented the game from resetting properly, meaning Mr Green, a single parent from Washingborough, Lincolnshire, would have seen his money grow exponentially had he continued playing.
Instead, the bookmaker allegedly offered Mr Green a £60,000 ‘goodwill gesture’ on condition that he remained quiet – a deal the father-of-three turned down before launching a three-year legal fight to reclaim his winnings.
Today he admitted if the bookie had ever proved the fault he would have considered taking the money.
He added: ‘There was a point when Betfred offered me a £60,000 settlement and had they showed me proof of a glitch, I would have been very tempted. But they didn’t.
‘I was willing to take that as long as they showed me proof.’
Following the 2018 win, he extended his overdraft and spent more than £2,500 celebrating with family and friends.
But his dreams were crushed five days later when Betfred claimed there had been a ‘software malfunction’ which led to the jackpot so his winning were void.
Mr Green said in 2018 that he had suffered four heart attacks, received heart treatment 11 times and thought the winnings would make his life ‘a lot better’.
When it became clear the bookies would not honour the win he began legal action against them.
At a hearing in October, his lawyers asked Mrs Justice Foster to either rule in his favour or strike out Betfred’s defence to his claim.
Lawyers for Betfred argued the dispute should be resolved at a full trial.
But Mrs Justice Foster ruled in Mr Green’s favour, finding that one of the terms and conditions set out by Betfred in the game, which was relied on by the firm in its defence to the claim, was ‘just not apt to cover the circumstances of this case at all’.
She said: ‘It is not dealing with the failure to pay out winnings at all. Nor is it dealing with a fault or glitch or programming mistake that is undetectable to either party.’
The judge added: ‘I am of the clear view that these clauses in the terms and conditions are inadequate to exempt Betfred from the obligation to pay out on an ostensibly winning bet or series of bets.’
For Mr Green the decision had been a vindication of three of the most difficult years of his life.
He said: ‘I have had health conditions and had been shielding during the pandemic, especially in the firs lockdown.
‘It meant there was more time to sit there with nothing to do, with all that was going through my head was Betfred – there were a lot of sleepless nights.’
‘I have always said I will pay off the mortgage with the money and will do some home improvements.
‘Me and my daughters will take a holiday, but probably next year when all this has died down.
‘Despite how hard this has been, I would do it again if I needed to.’
But he added: ‘I am an honest guy and I am a man of my word and won’t be bullied.
‘I believe this is a win for everybody as it shows general public they can fight these big firms and win.’