BetFred online game sees Lowestoft man scoop prize of £11.5m | Lowestoft Journal


A Lowestoft man won £11.5 million playing an online slot game, marking the largest payout in Betfred's history.
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The customer won the money after putting only a £1.50 stake into an online slot game called Mega Moolah run by the bookmaker's Betfred. 

The life-changing win, which occurred on Thursday, June 5, is the biggest payout in the company’s 58-year history.  

The anonymous player, who signed up after a family night out, won a total of £11,498,211.89 while playing the progressive jackpot game - after putting down an initial stake of only £1.50.

READ MORE: 'Historically significant' collection (including a HOWITZER!) up for auction  

Betfred founder Fred Done called the winner to offer his congratulations and invited him to a Manchester United home match as his guest. 

“He’s a sensible chap and is planning to invest some of his winnings into property for his family,” said Mr Done. “But not before enjoying a holiday of a lifetime.” 

The winner, a long-time horse racing punter, said the idea to try the online casino came from his partner.  

“It’s still sinking in, but it was class of Fred to phone me. I’m looking forward to meeting him at Old Trafford,” he said. 

“I’ve been a horse-racing punter my whole life and hit the cross bar a few times with some of my accas but obviously never hit the jackpot like this.

"It was the missus' idea that we gave the casino a go and we certainly got lucky," he added.

Local lottery luck 

Michael Carroll, the Swaffham refuse collector who won almost £10m lottery money in 2002. (Image: Archant) Norfolk and Waveney have seen their fair share of lottery luck over the years. 

One of the most high-profile wins came in November 2002 when 19-year-old Michael Carroll, a refuse collector from Swaffham, scooped a staggering £9.74 million on the National Lottery.  

In 2023, Mr Carroll revealed that he was now earning £10 an hour working as a lumberjack in Scotland, having spent his jackpot in the space of 10 years. 

In December 2010, Sue Stebbings, a check-out supervisor at Lowestoft’s Asda store, claimed a £5,629,964 share of the Lotto Double Rollover jackpot. 

More recently, in August 2024, ten residents from Ringland near Norwich each won £160,000 in a Postcode Millions draw. 

The winners included Jacky Pye, a veterinary nurse who broke down after being presented with his cheque before revealing the win to financial advisor AJ Brown, who had previously asked him to stop playing.  

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