Over 700 Gala Bingo players jumped for joy when they were informed that they had won a slice of a jackpot while playing during the operator’s recent “Summer Nights Bingo” promotion. The prize pool reportedly had mistakenly reached £1.6m ($2.2m) instead of the usual £150 ($203) or so, with some people winning as much as £18,000 ($24,404).
Their happiness turned to despair the following day when they learned that a glitch in the site meant that they actually hadn’t won anything. One player from Wales told the Manchester Evening News that he got a message saying that 797 of the approximately 1,200 players were eligible for runner-up prizes. Adam Wall won three separate sums of £2,400 ($3,254), and quickly withdrew the £7,200 ($9,762).
His plan was to use the money to marry his partner of ten years. Upon waking up the next day, he saw that his Gala account was closed and his £7,200 ($9,762) was nowhere to be seen. After reaching out to the operator, it confirmed that a technical glitch caused the misallocation of jackpot wins.
terms and conditions state that it can void winnings when there’s a malfunction
Wall said that he’s been “frustrated, disappointed, down about things and low” after getting the news. Gala Bingo credited him with £50 ($68) for his troubles, with a spokesperson telling media that its terms and conditions state that it can void winnings when there’s a malfunction. It gave a “gesture of goodwill” to impacted players for the misunderstanding.
