Gala Bingo Faces Backlash After Winning Glitch
Published On 7th August 2025
Winning at bingo is a fantastic feeling and that feeling is multiplied when the prize is potentially a life-changing sum. However imagine thinking you've won a big bingo prize only to find out that actually you've not won after all. This happened to numerous players on Monday night when, according to various media outlets, Gala Bingo and others on the Entain platform including Foxy Bingo, Coral Bingo and Ladbrokes Bingo created thousands of winners thanks to a "dodgy £1.6m prize pot". The incorrect amounts of winning did appear in players accounts but withdrawals were cancelled so no money was ever paid out. However the experience has left some players with a lot of disappointment as well as providing fuel for the media to sensationalise the error? Should Gala Bingo and co be paying out thousands because of a mistake or are they being unfairly attacked by a society that puts getting compensation for anything and everything?
So What Happened?
Reports suggest that the issues started as part of Gala Bingo's Summer Nights Bingo promotion. On these games, where players were playing 1p a ticket games, there should have been a pot of £150 that was to be shared amongst players as part of a consolation prize. However a glitch, and we're guessing someone mistyped a number in the system somewhere, the pot was actually up at £1.6million which meant that players started scooping large amounts of money. Winners who couldn't believe their luck celebrated their success and made plans to spend the money before it had even hit their bank accounts. According to The Sun one winner picked up £2700 that was confirmed as genuine by a live chat agent. They'd hoped to use the winnings to pay for an operation for their pet dog and repay a loan. Another player claims to have won up to £7200 and planned to use it for a family holiday. There are other similar stories across other media.
What Was Gala Bingo's Reaction?
Gala Bingo have contact all customers affected by the glitch and have informed them they would not receive their winnings. Instead they will be refunded the money they spent on tickets. A gesture of goodwill will also be part of the reconciliation. Gala have explained that a technical glitch caused the problems which lasted for around two hours. They have notificed The UGC. Gala have also said that "We apologise to customers for a technical error which occurred during our Summer Nights Bingo promotion for a short period of time, resulting in all players receiving incorrect payouts. Our customer Terms and Conditions clearly state that in the event of a malfunction, winnings can be voided". Interestingly there isn't a statement on social media but that hasn't stopped players from venting their frustrations.
What Are Player's Saying?
All Entain brands have been hit by a number of 1* reviews on Trustpilot from players who believe the company should have paid out the wins. People are claiming hurt and disappointment plus there are suggestions that accounts have either been suspended or closed. On one post a player states that "compensation is needed and not just some free bingo tickets that we won't win on". Another player says that they withdrew £840, it went into their bank account and they've already spent it. Now they're worried Gala will want it back! On another review a player has claimed that their partner won £7200 but that's been taken away and now their mental health has been effected. And another reviewer has claimed that Gala "have caused me nothing but stress". There are similar reviews on Foxy Bingo although Coral and Ladbrokes seem to have avoided the wrath of upset players.
Are Gala Bingo In The Wrong?
Society these days seems to be all about compensation and taking advantage of a situation rather than an acceptance that mistakes and errors can occur. Penny bingo games just don't pay out thousands and thousands in consolation prizes so it's fairly obvious that something went amiss during Monday's sessions. Why should Entain be paying out up to £1.6million (instead of £150) because of an error? Does that seem proportionately fair? The error of course should have been picked up much quicker by the tech team so that's something that needs investigating. It'd have helped minimise the issues but we do wonder whether some players jumped on the bandwagon when they saw what was going on (e.g. when there's a pricing error on Argos and everyone gets on board) and started spending more to try and win more thereby taking advantage of the error. In our view Entain are right to void the games and refund payments. Perhaps free bingo tickets aren't enough but it's still a gesture of goodwill and they've acknowledged the issue as well as reporting it to UKGC. They are also right to prevent money heading out the door if it's been "won" in a voided game. It's also not Entain's fault if people have "spent their winnings" or "started planning to use them". Yes some of the stories pull at the heartstrings but many of these stories are being used by the media to sensationalise the story. It'll be interesting to see how The UKGC views the incident.
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