Betting's Biggest Court Cases - Bruno Venturi Vs Eurobet

We've all dreamed of winning a big jackpot while playing casino games online, but for one player, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Winning big prizes is definitely possible online, and many players have been lucky enough to land life-changing sums of money from playing exciting games. However, in the case of Bruno Venturi, the casino argued that his good fortune had come about through an accidental software glitch.

Who is Bruno Venturi?

This case revolves around a 41-year-old man named Bruno Venturi. The Italian, who worked in a pet shop in his hometown of Naples, was a regular player of online casino games.

Who are Eurobet?

Eurobet was owned by Coral and licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. While it's no longer operating, it had a good reputation among players across the UK and Europe.

The Unexpected Win

On the 28th January 2009, Bruno Venturi logged into his Eurobet account and began playing Sixty Seconds, a lottery-style casino game.

Starting with just €20 in his account at 8:18pm, Venturi started out with his usual stakes of 20c per bet. However, as he rack up the wins, the Italian increased his stakes.

By 9pm, Venturi had won €5,000, but he wasn't finished there... Within the next hour, he multiplied his winnings several times and boosted his account balance to a quite incredible €200,000.

Although many gamblers might have quit while they were so far ahead, Venturi took advantage of his lucky streak and kept on playing. His gameplay continued for three and a half hours, before he ended up on €707,000 shortly before midnight. This was worth around £650,000 at the time.

As you would imagine, Venturi was over the moon about his incredible win, saying: "I've never had so much money. Its a very big win and not something that happens every day."

Eurobet were in agreement with their player as they claimed the win was unusual and was likely due to a software glitch rather than legitimate gameplay.

With neither side willing to back down, the case headed to the UK's High Court.

The Court Case

After Eurobet refused to pay the winnings from the game, Venturi took the casino to court. Presenting Venturi's case in the High Court, barrister John McLinden stated that his client denies any evidence of software error. While Venturi was playing the game, no error message came up that suggested something might be wrong. However, the casino's representative claimed the issue meant that it was mathematically inevitable for Venturi to win the jackpot.

The game's error had been caused by a software upgrade, and it meant that the player would be charged for only one in six of their bets.

That night, Venturi made a total of 6,670 wagers, and the odds meant that he couldn't lose. Speaking to the court through an interpreter, Venturi said: "I had always lost previously...but when I started to win I had a very good feeling. I'm a player and my instincts told me to keep betting."

Although Venturi was questioned as to how he couldn't have realised something was wrong, it seems like he really got swept up in the excitement of the seemingly lucky streak. He hadn't noticed that most of his bets weren't being charged, but it was this detail that allowed the casino to void the win. As Mr Venturi didn't pay for all of his bets, the casino's refusal to pay was not in breach of its terms.

Judge Simon Brown QC described the case as a straightforward contractual claim.

Despite the appearance that Venturi had gotten lucky, the judge ruled in the casino's favour. He stated that any issues caused by the software error voided the obligation that the casino had to pay. Any members joining the casino had to agree to terms which outlined that any sum incorrectly credited to a player's account would be recovered.

Impact of The Court Case

The case was ruled in favour of the casino, much to the disappointment of Mr Venturi. Going from the elation of winning such an incredible amount to having it all taken away from you must have been very hard to take.

Shortly after this controversial jackpot win, the game was pulled off the site and hasn't been available to play ever since.

Where Are They Now?

Eurobet is no longer operating, with Eurobet UK Ltd being dissolved back in 2018. However, Coral is still active as an online bookmaker and casino today.

There's no further information on what happened to Bruno Venturi, or whether he ever gambled at online casinos again. However, the story serves as a cautionary tale to gamblers and an example of why it's so important to read and understand the terms and conditions when playing online.