₱397M Slot Jackpot Declared “System Error” – Would You Accept ₱5M or Fight It?

[Cantsay]

How do you see this case, Does she realistically have a chance to win this case legally?

My judgement or contribution is going to be biased because I already know how the case went, so my answer would be “yes, I would have accepted it since it’s better than walking away with nothing”.

But if this was to happen to me, I doubt I’ll simply just settle for just 5M, because taking only $85k from $6.9M look very small, so there is a chance of greediness coming to play his course and also because of the fact that I saw the system stat that I won, I wouldn’t have agreed with the $85k, like the woman did.

Also, gamblers are poorly protected by the law so pursuing such case will most likely result in nothing since most mediator always rule in favour of the gambling company.

[bhadz]

I guess that this is going to be one of the most followed gambling related case in the country.
-snip-
Under the table is common and that possible peace offering she would get means that bingoplus is guilty over their technical issue reasoning.

It's funny because the people are already calling the casino a scam, speculating that they paid the regulating commission to be in favor with them. The odds are really stacked against her if she decides to push her case.

That's how it will go since most of these wins are being rigged by the casino themselves to avoid paying that much. The fact that they've tried to settle and silence her with the amount offered to her means that there's something in it. And if she's serious pushing this, it will be hard and she needs good attorney/s here to make her pay what she should have won based on that "error" as the bingoplus have said.

[KTChampions]

A woman reportedly hit a ₱397 million jackpot on a slot game after playing regularly for a long time and accumulating losses. She was understandably happy, finally thinking she got paid back but the win was never credited to her account. So she contacted support and was told it was a system error, so she escalated the case to PAGCOR to complain. The operator, BingoPlus, allegedly made two settlement offers, with the final one being ₱5 million which is roughly $87,000 USD but the jackpot amount itself is around $6.9 million USD, but she refused the offer. PAGCOR later ruled that it was a technical error.

Now the big questions:

[1] Was rejecting ₱5M the right decision, or a risky move?
[2] If regulators already side with “system error,” does the player even stand a chance?
[3] At what point does a “system error” just become a convenient escape for the operator?

From a player’s perspective, it feels unfair but from a legal and regulatory standpoint, casinos almost always hide behind TOS and system disclaimers. Personally, I’m skeptical. Once PAGCOR calls it a technical error, the odds seem stacked against her, no matter how real the win looked on screen.

Still, walking away from ₱5M isn’t easy either. That’s life-changing money for most people, even if it’s far from the jackpot.

How do you see this case, Does she realistically have a chance to win this case legally?


Source --- https://www.facebook.com/gamepowdotco/posts/a-woman-who-claimed-to-have-won-a-397-million-jackpot-on-bingoplus-was-told-the-/1446494900382592/

As I understand it, the court's opinion will always be higher than the decision of PAGCOR. So, naturally, she needs to fight in court, at the very least to be offered even more compensation. The fact that a technical error occurred in the slot machine is completely irrelevant—that's the responsibility of the company that operates these machines. I think this woman has a good chance of winning the case or at least receiving even more compensation. If I were the owner of these slot machines, I would try to settle the matter as quickly as possible, as the reputational risks plus the risks of being bankrupted in court are high.

[stadus]

If I were the owner of these slot machines, I would try to settle the matter as quickly as possible, as the reputational risks plus the risks of being bankrupted in court are high.

This is an online slot anyway, so it’s most likely coming from a game provider, just like any other slot game. Because of that, the statement would be more believable if the game provider itself confirms what really happened.

At the end of the day, both the casino and the game provider need licenses to operate. If either one lies and gets caught, that could be the end of their business. But the game provider has even more to lose since they supply games to multiple casinos, so they have bigger risk there.

That’s why bringing this to court actually makes sense, especially since the settlement offered isn’t satisfactory for the winner.

[hyudien]

How do you see this case, Does she realistically have a chance to win this case legally?

I think this case will be difficult to win, even if she is supported by professional lawyers, not without reason, when they say there is a system error, this will strengthen their claim not to give the jackpot won by the woman, but they still have to be responsible because the player does not know that there is a mistake in the game. With such low odds, taking the compensation offered by them is a wise move, in my opinion.

[blockman]

Still, walking away from ₱5M isn’t easy either. That’s life-changing money for most people, even if it’s far from the jackpot.

I am the kind of person that I don't like long process and won't bother if they tell me that my winnings are forfeited. I'll probably shut my mouth after they say that and if PAGCOR verifies that there's no valid win, that's even a stronger decision that I cannot be against with. So, walking with P5M away is the choice and I'll accept that and there will be no more talks about it. I might even think that it's better to have that and be grateful that I still have that kind of money rather than having nothing at all. That's the mindset we have when we're rejected but it still feels different if that's almost four hundred million pesos even after the taxes..

[asriloni]

Such dumb move to rejected 5 millions peso. If she was wealth enough to fight the casino through the court, it should not be a problem for her to get a lawyer. However, if he's not wealth enough to do that, he's just wasting more money for 99% probability to receive nothing for her fight.

Gambling is the industry where it's legally and politically protected. If she still stubborn to fight them, it's the same like she's suiciding herself.

She should re-negotiate the best possible amount to settle the case instead of fight them.

[Botnake]

Such dumb move to rejected 5 millions peso. If she was wealth enough to fight the casino through the court, it should not be a problem for her to get a lawyer. However, if he's not wealth enough to do that, he's just wasting more money for 99% probability to receive nothing for her fight.

You’re talking to an honest person here, so don’t call it a dumb move.
The woman genuinely believes she won that amount, and she’s expecting to be paid what she thinks is rightfully hers.

If she accepts the settlement, then in her mind she’s basically letting the casino get away with cheating her. So for her, it’s not just about the money. It’s also about principle. She wants what she believes is due to her.

[Oasisman]

No surprise, it's the PH, lol!

Whether or not it's indeed a system error, she should've taken the 5m. She should not let her emotions get into the situation. The money involved is too massive for the casino company to back down against her in the court of law. The PH authorities are known to be corrupt, and there is no doubt she's not gonna win against this multi-million peso company. Even if she escalated it to the highest court, she'll end up draining all her money. The justice system here favors money.
One thing to remember, if a gambling company refuses to pay you because the winning amount is huge, and if you think you don't have the financial capacity to take it to court, then just settle for reasonable compensation. Everyone can be paid and twist the story around.
In this case, the gambling company can simply pay the court or PAGCOR, or whoever it was,  20%-30% of the amount involved, and the case will be closed in no time. No hassle, no more compensation. What an unfortunate turn of events!

IMO, this is most likely not a system error, because it happened to only one person. I mean, it's quite weird for the system to fail selectively to just one person.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

How do you see this case, Does she realistically have a chance to win this case legally?

My judgement or contribution is going to be biased because I already know how the case went, so my answer would be “yes, I would have accepted it since it’s better than walking away with nothing”.

But if this was to happen to me, I doubt I’ll simply just settle for just 5M, because taking only $85k from $6.9M look very small, so there is a chance of greediness coming to play his course and also because of the fact that I saw the system stat that I won, I wouldn’t have agreed with the $85k, like the woman did.

Also, gamblers are poorly protected by the law so pursuing such case will most likely result in nothing since most mediator always rule in favour of the gambling company.

I agree, That amount is really small and as a gambler we can be greedy, we can bargain the deal like double the money right? or atleast comes up woith 150% as long as we can.

Players are in badside on this specially when the casino or case happened in a corrupt country where  rich people can bribe the agency that should protect people.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

Unfortunately we see that very often. Once somebody hits a huge jackpot there is suddenly an error, pretty convenient for the casino I would say, isn't it? Where are those errors when you are losing and losing all over again?
Not sure if I would accept the "offer", I mean it depends on the situation. 85000$ also is quite a big amount of money, especially in the Philippines, but obviously nothing compared to almost 7 million.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

A similar question has come up before and my response still remain the same, let's assume I have never made and have never had 5 million in my entire life, I will rather just accept the offer and let go of 397m since the slot claims that the win was as a system error. Although it's very difficult to just accept like that but if you think of losing the 5 million and the 397 million, it's so painful. But if my net worth is far above that P5 million, I won't accept the offer but will try out the law suit, there's no harm in trying, It's possible that me filling a lawsuit could have also gave me the full amount I won but if it doesn't, I will also not feel any regret because at least I'm worth more than the 5 million they initially offered.

[Cantsay]

Players are in badside on this specially when the casino or case happened in a corrupt country where  rich people can bribe the agency that should protect people.

The thing is that we’re dealing with an online service so aside them having more money to pay off those incharge of the case, they can also falsify evidence and once those evidence are provided mediators would have no other choice but to rule in favour of the casino.

Check most cases online, it’s either due to pressure from a specific community or because they found the case was too clear that’s why they rule in favour of the user.

[Orpichukwu]

Unfortunately we see that very often. Once somebody hits a huge jackpot there is suddenly an error, pretty convenient for the casino I would say, isn't it? Where are those errors when you are losing and losing all over again?

The question everyone needs to ask, and I believe whoever is affected by such an error claim will be the first of us to slam them with the question, is if the error made someone lose more than they should, will there ever be a time when they agree there was an error for mass losing and compensate those affected?

Not sure if I would accept the "offer", I mean it depends on the situation. 85000$ also is quite a big amount of money, especially in the Philippines, but obviously nothing compared to almost 7 million.

In a case like this where the licensing body is already siding with the casino by saying there was indeed the best for me to do, accept the $85,000 offer. Instead of losing it all, it's better for me to get something out of it.

[qwertyup23]

She may not be paid, if she read the rules, she will know that she may not win the case, she should have just walked away with the ₱5M. If I were her, that is what I will do than to think of turning it into a lawsuit or some related.

If she go for lawsuit, I will not blame her but the chance she is going to win is low because of the terms of service the gambling platforms have which is against the women if truly the machine malfunctioned.

This is rather a sketchy situation where she would have to go against a gambling casino that can possibly hire the best lawyers to argue that the system indeed experienced a technical glitch. However, the fact still remains that the casino offered her p5 Million, which is rather unusual given the circumstances.

My point is- if the casino truly believes that they experienced a glitch on their system, why would they offer the lady money? There were multiple posts in the past where some gamblers should've won the jackpot but the casino refused to reward money arguing that there was a glitch on their system.

If I were the lady, I would take this to court and even hire the best lawyers promising a percentage of my supposed winnings as payment for their service. Since the casino alleged that there was a glitch, they are obligated to prove this into court to overcome such presumption.

[serjent05]

I also think that the woman may not win this case.  The strongest weapon of any gambling casino to void wins is the technical error or machine malfunction alibi.  It was written on the ToS and players agreed to that.

As for the Bingo Plus, they have a record of paying ₱935 M so I do not think that the platform will make an alibi just not to pay that ₱397 M.  Maybe it is really a system error and they offer the amount for the sake of consideration/consolation.

[Dave1]

I also think that the woman may not win this case.  The strongest weapon of any gambling casino to void wins is the technical error or machine malfunction alibi.  It was written on the ToS and players agreed to that.

As for the Bingo Plus, they have a record of paying ₱935 M so I do not think that the platform will make an alibi just not to pay that ₱397 M.  Maybe it is really a system error and they offer the amount for the sake of consideration/consolation.

They are well established casinos in the Philippines if I'm not mistaken. That most Filipinos prefer with them as they have the registration from Pagcor so they are legit. I remember that there was a crackdown on illegal online games in the Philippines from last year or so.

With this issue though, anyone think that this will take a big hit on their reputation if they are not going to pay? If yes then what other options that other Filipino gambler are going to used? I'm asking because there could be other legit and reputable casinos that should learn from this lessons in the Philippines. For the case, it's very hard what could be the ending here, getting that full money or just accept the 5 million reward because we haven't seen players winning against online or even offline casinos.

[Odusko]

I also think that the woman may not win this case.  The strongest weapon of any gambling casino to void wins is the technical error or machine malfunction alibi.  It was written on the ToS and players agreed to that.

As for the Bingo Plus, they have a record of paying ₱935 M so I do not think that the platform will make an alibi just not to pay that ₱397 M.  Maybe it is really a system error and they offer the amount for the sake of consideration/consolation.

They are well established casinos in the Philippines if I'm not mistaken. That most Filipinos prefer with them as they have the registration from Pagcor so they are legit. I remember that there was a crackdown on illegal online games in the Philippines from last year or so.

With this issue though, anyone think that this will take a big hit on their reputation if they are not going to pay? If yes then what other options that other Filipino gambler are going to used? I'm asking because there could be other legit and reputable casinos that should learn from this lessons in the Philippines. For the case, it's very hard what could be the ending here, getting that full money or just accept the 5 million reward because we haven't seen players winning against online or even offline casinos.

On the long run that casino may capitalize on the system error and deny the women her winning, this is possible as long as their have already started mentioning the system error as the cause of the women winnings, most time casino overlook small amount in winning and always fine extra reasons to always deny legitimate games winnings like this one, jackpot winning always comes with alot of crisis most times when the casino is not a reputable casinos.

[Cointxz]

With this issue though, anyone think that this will take a big hit on their reputation if they are not going to pay? If yes then what other options that other Filipino gambler are going to used? I'm asking because there could be other legit and reputable casinos that should learn from this lessons in the Philippines. For the case, it's very hard what could be the ending here, getting that full money or just accept the 5 million reward because we haven't seen players winning against online or even offline casinos.

Considering how dumb Filipino gambler is I doubt their reputation will be affected unless it was heavily discussed in social media especially influencer and promote new reputable casino.

I don’t see much speculation on social media compared to corrupt politicians topic which is a hot topic right now.

With the PAGCOR verifying its an error I believe many will agree that way.

[ralle14]

Without knowing the chances, I would've gone for that final offer worth 5 million from the casino. Even though it's tempting to pursue that jackpot win, these casinos don't easily fold, and i'd rather take what I can get from the situation instead of pushing my luck even further.

I've experienced missing out on winnings because of an unexpected error, so if I find myself in her shoes, i'm not letting it happen for the second time.