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

[Russlenat]

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/

[Charles-Tim]

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.

[Bitcoin_Arena]

I am not so sure about the integrity of PAGCOR but I do hope that when they made a ruling in favor of the operator, everything was as transparent as possible. This is the kind of case where I feel like something is/was not right.
If they were so confident that there was a system error, then why did they attempt to offer a settlement of ₱1M and then later ₱5M?

[1] Was rejecting ₱5M the right decision, or a risky move?

It was risk ofcourse, she lost it all

[2] If regulators already side with “system error,” does the player even stand a chance?

Not at all

[3] At what point does a “system error” just become a convenient escape for the operator?

We can really never tell what went on behind the scenes.

[Odusko]

This type of Cases have been happening very frequently, I still remember someone that won 80 millions local currency, and was later not paid reason being that the game was won via system glitch, how this happens is that the player will have that sign of something not right with the system, but since it favoring them with unrealistic winning, they keep at it, so the casino have a rule that states they have right to void such games winning, as long as the authority supports them that is final and from the judgement the system was recheck and the winning history was not recorded in the system which further justify the casino decision, she should have taken the 5 million offer as compensation.

[Russlenat]

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

The offer is way too small compared to the amount she thought she won. That alone can really mess with someone’s head. You start asking yourself, why would a casino even offer that amount if it was really just an error?

That’s probably where the confusion comes from, and it just strengthens her belief that the casino is trying to avoid paying her instead of fixing a genuine mistake.

[Charles-Tim]

The offer is way too small compared to the amount she thought she won. That alone can really mess with someone’s head. You start asking yourself, why would a casino even offer that amount if it was really just an error?

But what if the machine truly malfunctioned? But just like I have posted, she can try her luck, maybe the court will favour her. Her lawyer might take up the case.

What I dislike about the such casinos is that if the machine is malfunctioning in a way that gamblers lose faster than normal, the casinos will be happy about it and the gamblers will not be refunded.

[Emjay24]

[3] At what point does a “system error” just become a convenient escape for the operator?

This is the case honestly, it is an escape route and in fact the woman was robbed by the game provider and the casino. Offering her the fraction was in a bid to shut her up and didn't make sense. it is not her business that there was a technical glitch, Bingoplus should take responsibility for their shortcoming and pay her money.

It was not a technical error since she's been playing and encountering losses until she secured a big win and the technical error constraint surfaced.

Indeed this is viewed as corruption from my end, Bingoplus and PAGCOR showed little integrity in handling that matter. The woman deserves her win.

[Botnake]

But what if the machine truly malfunctioned?

She’s probably gambling on her chances here, which honestly makes her a real gambler in that sense. I think she might have taken the offer if the amount was at least reasonable. But offering something that’s not even 2% of what she believed she won just doesn’t make sense. If you put yourself in her position, it really feels insulting.

That’s why casinos need to make sure issues like this don’t happen, especially if it’s really just a technical error. It doesn’t just cost them money, it damages their reputation too. To me, that offer feels more like damage control. They probably knew she wouldn’t accept it, but dragging this longer could lead to a lawsuit, and that’s way worse for a casino’s image.

And since BingoPlus is a big name here in PH, any hit to their reputation could easily push gamblers to move elsewhere.

[Cointxz]

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.

The max win also on Bingo plus is low since this is a local online casino in my country. There’s no way their slot games will payout 397M even hitting a maximum multiplier with max bet.

The woman probably knew this fact but wants to get the full win despite an error winning amount.

But I believe she still deserves to get the compensation since he really won the game. PAGCOR or Philippines government agency in general are corrupt so there’s a chance that there’s some cover up here to avoid the payment.

[AVE5]

Now the big questions:

[1] Was rejecting ₱5M the right decision, or a risky move?

It's already stated that there's no valid wins in system error, that means if this sites excuse is being backed by the law and being guided with the sites terms, they woman must had made a very big mistake by rejecting the  ₱5,000,000 offer of the company. So if much of gone to the courts and fight otue heads out for no gain, I'm sure it'll be a vet big regret.
This may also prove one of the signs of being greedy in gambling which ends you up loosing it all back after trying to real hit and cash the jackpot.

[Orpichukwu]

The first thing I will do in this type of situation is try to calm myself down and contact a legal advisor who is familiar with casino cases, and the advice I will get will determine which option I'm to take. I can't rush to make a decision which will lead me into losing it all legally.

The casino might win against her since they are the ones with the upper hand, but if they want to be fair, they can just be like the casino which did not care about the error and paid all players who won through that error that day to retain their customers and reputation.

[bhadz]

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?

[1] It's a risky move but if you can fight for that, it could be bigger than that. I understand why she has declined that because she's going for the bigger amount. But the risk is that she'll lose more money there and lose the court battle.
[2] There is a small chance if she brings this up to the higher court/supreme court. But it's sad that she's against a giant and can bribe the judges. We know this is a normal thing in the country.
[3] As always, I've read the same cases in some slots in Vegas and they always reason it out whenever a gambler wins big. It's an escape goat and reasoning for them.

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

I want her to win this case, 5M is big but 397M and even after taxes, that's a lot of money. But it's going to be a tough battle for her, maybe if bingoplus make it 10M - 20M for settlement, she'll go for it.

[freedomgo]

The casino might win against her since they are the ones with the upper hand, but if they want to be fair, they can just be like the casino which did not care about the error and paid all players who won through that error that day to retain their customers and reputation.

With a win this big being brushed off as a technical error, an investigation should really happen. That said, I honestly doubt we can trust PAGCOR to handle it properly. This is the same agency regulating casinos here but sad is corruption isn’t exactly rare in this country. Because of that, it’s hard to expect the woman to actually win this battle. At best, if the casino was really lying, the only thing she might get is damage to the casino’s reputation. I don’t think she’ll see anything in terms of actual money.

[TypoTonic]

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

Seeing that PAGCOR has already sided with BingoPlus, I think her chances are slim. Also, by playing in their online casino, she has basically agreed to these terms:

The player agrees that the platform, through its certified game engine and backend systems, has the sole and exclusive right to determine, validate, and declare the official and final result of any game or spin. By registering as a player, and accepting the Terms Of Use of the platform, the player has deemed that it has expressly accepted all the game results based on the sole and final determination of BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, or GameZone.

In the event of technical bugs, malfunctions or any analogous circumstances that may affect the game results, BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, or GameZone reserves the right, in its sole and exclusive discretion, to independently determine the game result subject to compliance with applicable rules and regulations of PAGCOR.

I want her to win this case, 5M is big but 397M and even after taxes, that's a lot of money. But it's going to be a tough battle for her, maybe if bingoplus make it 10M - 20M for settlement, she'll go for it.

Her winnings are subject to 20% tax. She would be left with ₱317.6M, which is indeed still a lot. I doubt that the casino will offer another settlement, since PAGCOR already ruled that the win is invalid, and she has also rejected the previous offers already.

[yahoo62278]

I feel like having the system error available to use at their discretion kinda fucks a player over. At any time a provider can just say there was an error and not pay. Seems a little 1 sided if ya ask me and the player really has no argument.

She should take whatever they are offering as likely she will get 0 if she keeps fighting it.

[rbynxx]

Yeah just saw this on my social media feed just few minutes and thought probably there has to be some thread  this here. It was unfortunate but she probably need to pursue this to the higher court, it may be a long legal battle and tbh expensive but she'll have more if the win goes with her or probably get what they tend to offer, even just 10% of the wins is good. Lol the last offer didn't even make it to 1%, that's a shame considering they increased it, they're probably have something more to offer to that woman.

[Potato Chips]

Damn, what a tough situation.

TBH, I'm not sure how she's gonna prove her case with the local regulator issuing such statement already. I'm not sure if I can fully trust their statement either. I guess we bystanders will never know what happened behind closed doors. That's the catch.

But from what I understand the lawsuit is still goin' on? Maybe her legal team will argue about compensation for the error instead.

Legal fees are fuckin' expensive though. Big companies can easily drag the case, and make you have seconds thoughts about continuing as it could eat up your savings.

[malcovi2]

Damn, what a tough situation.

TBH, I'm not sure how she's gonna prove her case with the local regulator issuing such statement already. I'm not sure if I can fully trust their statement either. I guess we bystanders will never know what happened behind closed doors. That's the catch.

But from what I understand the lawsuit is still goin' on? Maybe her legal team will argue about compensation for the error instead.

Legal fees are fuckin' expensive though. Big companies can easily drag the case, and make you have seconds thoughts about continuing as it could eat up your savings.

She lost the case, as PAGCOR already ruled out as a technical error she won 0 and have to pay lawyers fees, I would rather take the 5m in my own opinion when bingoplus can just bribe PAGCOR to not pay-out the 397m, I have 0 trust in our government agency especially when huge amount of money is involve.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

[1] Was rejecting ₱5M the right decision, or a risky move?

I will make sure to take time to think of it, I will ask some advice to a lawyer or 2.
I will make also a counter offer first of 10M (double the amount negotation)

[2] If regulators already side with “system error,” does the player even stand a chance?

A player will not stand a chance on this matter, as BingoPlus is an online casino base in Philippines, there will be under the table from the casino to Pagcor or connection.
Specially that the casino own by a Politician/Businessman. BingoPlus Owner

[3] At what point does a “system error” just become a convenient escape for the operator?

A Fire Exit!

[fullfitlarry]

Yes, this news is taking our country again with regards to gambling. Lol.

Another controversy as she claimed to won that big jackpot but then the casino refuses to play and she has to do everything in her power to get it. Although it's obvious that there is a offer to her.

Me and my friends are discussing this last night while playing online. Some of us says that she can't fight the casino as we haven't heard a case wherein someone won over. And it's on the side of Pagcor to really show it's teeth as the casino involved here is big.