UK slots player Jamie Gardiner recently thought that he’d won a £29,466 payout. Unfortunately, the Liverpool area resident was told that he didn’t actually win the big prize.
While playing Land of Gold slots, Gardiner says he got three clovers and a message that read “Win £29,466.59.”
According to the Liverpool Echo, Gardiner was initially thrilled about the win. But this joy quickly turned to concern when the £29.5k didn’t go into his account right away.
Having played Land of Gold slots and won money with three clovers before, Gardiner believes that his win is valid. But the casino he was playing at, Betfred, claims that the payout didn’t represent what he won – only what was possible.
“I play all the time and I know when it comes up there it is meant to go straight into your balance,” said Jamie. “I got two mushrooms and three clovers and whenever you get three clovers you are credited with the jackpot.”
Betfred has since withdrawn Land of Gold while they conduct an internal review. But Gardiner isn’t convinced that anything good will happen because he’s spoken to the support team, which has failed to respond after seeing screenshots of his win.
“I put £100 a week into that site which is taken from my bank account immediately, but they just won’t pay out for me, it’s like a big kick in the face,” Jamie explained.
“I would be able to get a mortgage and go on a nice holiday. There is no way this was a potential win and not an actual win.”
An upset Gardiner added, “People would kill themselves over this.”
When questioned by the Liverpool Echo over the matter, a Betfred spokesperson offered the following explanation:
“Unfortunately the customer has not won the jackpot. The customer would have needed 3 four leaf clovers to land the jackpot and the amounts shown in the ‘win’ box are what a customer could win and not confirmation. However we have withdrawn this game and we have launched a review both internally and with our third party supplier.”
Having not personally played Land of Gold myself, I can’t say whether three clovers equals a win or not. But Betfred’s explanation sounds a little fishy. Given that they’re in the regulated UK market, we should find out soon enough whether they or Gardiner are right in the matter.
All I can say is that if Gardiner doesn’t get the money, at least he’s got nothing on Katrina Bookman, who thought that she was in line for a $43 million payout.