A Swiss gambler is to sue an Austrian casino after being denied a £37m slot jackpot and offered a free meal instead.
Behar Merlaku was playing the machine at Casino Bregenz on March 26 when, despite only matching four of the required symbols, the game announced that he had won the prize. The casino, however, blamed a system failure for incorrectly registering that he had won.
Merlaku is now planning to launch a legal battle after he was told of the error and offered a free meal and £60 instead. The property is operated by Casinos Austria but the incident could have far-reaching consequences for both operators and slot machine manufacturers if Merlaku’s civil action is successful.
“The slot machine that produced the winning display was immediately accessed by Casinos Austria,” Merlaku’s legal team told the Daily Mail. “The regulator, the Austrian Ministry of Finance, has shown no interest in pursuing an orderly investigation as would be the case in well regulated gaming jurisdictions such as the UK, Switzerland, Singapore, the US, Australia and Macau.” The first hearing is expected to take place in January.
