Bingo players ‘gutted’ after glitch meant their £10,000 winnings didn’t exist

More than 1,000 Gala Bingo players have been left in the lurch after being told their winnings of thousands of pounds did not actually exist, it’s been reported.

The players were taking part in bingo games on Monday with a huge prize pot of £1.6million – but the top prize should have only reached a maximum of £150.

Some players thought they’d won up to £9,600, and others has started to spend their winnings, before being told the prize pot was a system error and they would not be able to withdraw their winnings.

Gala Bingo sent an email to the 1,188 players affected, explaining the wins were the result of a technical fault and they would not be receiving their prizes.

One woman did manage to withdraw her prize within minutes of the win – but most have been left feeling disappointed and out of pocket, with some pledging to never play with Gala Bingo again.

A Scottish woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, planned to spend their winnings on a funeral for her partner’s mum, who passed away recently.

They were left disappointed after discovering their accounts had been frozen and the prize money was nowhere to be seen.

The woman told MailOnline: ‘My partner went up to get his medication and when he came back and sat down he looked shocked. I double checked and it said we had won £2,400. 

‘We thought we could take care of the funeral with no worries about the expense.

‘I wasn’t sure about it all but then the host said “enjoy your winnings” – they obviously didn’t realise what was happening.

‘My partner is angry and it’s become all-consuming, especially at such a difficult time. this has just knocked him sideways.

‘It’s all been dealt with so badly, it wasn’t right.’ 

Another player, 28-year-old Victoria Greer, was left ‘shocked and disappointed’ when she found out her winnings didn’t exist.

The full time mum from Oxford thought she’d had a lucky streak and had won a pot worth £2,400 three times in a row – but when it came time to withdraw her winnings, her account was frozen.

She called the company’s decision not to pay out as ‘very sneaky and crafty’, adding: ‘I was going to spend the money on my 18-week-old boy and get him some lovely things for Christmas and go away on holiday with my partner to Spain for a week in March. 

‘I wanted driving lessons and a test because I don’t drive at the moment so I’m disappointed.’

Mum and daughter Susan, 64, and Beth, 31, were playing Gala Bingo together and thought they’d won £9,600 each.

However, after seeing the winning notification pop up, the payment never made it to their accounts.

Susan said: ‘We were playing and then Emily said she had won something and it turned out we had won £9,600 each and I just couldn’t believe it.

‘I was worried it wasn’t legit and so I tried to withdraw it but after about four hours it said the payment was cancelled.

‘I was going to spend my winnings on changes to my cottage to help now that I’ve had a stroke.

‘Somebody has to pay for this and something has to be done.

‘Why did no one flag the error? How did no one spot this mistake?’

Beth and Susan each received a voucher for £96 – just 1% of what they thought they’d won – and the vouchers must be spent on Gala Bingo within a week.

‘To only give people 1% back – it’s not enough, it doesn’t cover the stress this has caused. We’ve only got £96 out of the £9,600 we thought we had,’ Susan added.

One lucky woman did manage to cash in her full £2,400 prize and has already been spending the money on clothes and other items for her eight-year-old daughter.

But the woman, from Manchester, now feels ‘awkward and guilty’ after finding out so many other players weren’t able to claim their cash, and is now scared Gala Bingo will try to get the money back.

She said: ‘I was playing and realised I’d won at 7.44pm and withdrew the money to my bank account at 7.46pm and it was there within 10 minutes. 

I didn’t even think there was anything wrong or it was a glitch because I’ve won a few times before and once won £1,500.

‘I can’t sleep – I didn’t get to sleep until 4.30am on Monday and it’s put me off spending the money.

‘I went to the Old Trafford Centre but I couldn’t buy anything, I’m scared that if I spend it and they ask for it back – I can’t have that kind of debt. 

‘I’m just trying to buy sensibly for my daughter for the holidays.’ 

Gala Bingo has been contacted for comment

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