Limiting liability in Consumer Terms: High Court rules in favour of online customer in £1.7 million dispute with Betfred

Published

Apr 28 2021

Written By

Partner
UK

I'm the head of the firm's international Media, Entertainment and Sports group, a cross-disciplinary international team focused on supporting our clients in the sports, gambling, broadcasting, social media and digital content, games, music, publishing, advertising and marketing sectors.

Elizabeth Dunn

Partner
UK

As a partner in Bird & Bird's Commercial team and a member of our Media, Entertainment & Sport Group based in London, my practice focuses on regulatory and commercial matters in gambling and sport.

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In Green v Petfre (Gibraltar) Ltd (t/a Betfred), the High Court ruled that Betfred were liable to pay out a customer’s £1.7 million winnings on a side bet allegedly caused by a software defect, despite Betfred’s claims that their consumer terms excluded liability for such defects.

This judgment provides an important reminder for any B2C businesses, not just gambling operators, seeking to exclude their liability for software defects online (or indeed for anything else). In particular, online businesses should be asking themselves whether their exclusions of liability are sufficiently (1) specific; (2) prominent; and (3) fair. If they fall short in any of those three areas, they may not be enforceable.

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