Roll Up To Win players upset after $10K AMEX card win was result of technical error

Several Tim Hortons customers thought they had won a $10,000 prize in the company's Roll Up To Win contest only to be told they had not won due to a 'technical error.' Erick Espinosa explains.

By Erick Espinosa

Tim Hortons has kicked off its traditional Roll Up To Win contest at participating locations, but the rollout didn’t go as smoothly as expected after a technical issue prompted several players to believe they were $10,000 richer.

Josh Rose was one of those players. The St. Catharines, Ont., resident was on his way home from an early morning shift when he decided to stop by his local Tim Hortons to grab a coffee for his soon-to-be wife—a small gesture leading into preparations for their wedding day.

A day that turned out to be extra special after the pair rolled up the virtual rim and won. Or so they thought.

“I opened the app, rolled it, and it popped up ‘Winner!’ You are the winner of a $10,000 American Express pre-paid card,” Rose tells CityNews.

After a full day of celebrations, Rose discovered the prize was no longer there.

“I went back into the app and didn’t see it in my Tim’s app, so I contacted Tim Hortons. I said, “Hey, I got a screenshot of it because I was excited. What’s happening here?”

Screenshot of Tim Hortons prize sent to CityNews.


After contacting their digital support team, he received an email 24 hours later.

“I’m reaching out to share that for a few hours on Monday morning, a technical error caused an issue for a small subset of Roll Up To Win players that you are a part of,” writes Senior Vice President of Digital and Loyalty at Tim Horton, Markus Sturm.

This year, each roll enters the player into a daily jackpot for the chance to win a $10,000 American Express pre-paid card. For this prize, the winner is notified by email and not instantly through their app.

“Your prize ‘timeline’ in the Roll Up To Win game shows the correct entry into the jackpot,” Tim Hortons wrote, ending by thanking Rose for his understanding and offering a gift card.

“They offered me a $50 Tim’s card instead of a $10,000 pre-paid card, so obviously, I was a bit stunned by that,” Rose admitted.

Other Roll Up To Win contestants hampered by technical glitches speak out

Rose wasn’t alone. Other Tim Hortons coffee drinkers quickly took to social media to share their bitter disappointment.

“I’ve been a loyal Tim Hortons coffee drinker for 35-plus years. That’s how [they] want to treat your customers,” Scott Adams tells CityNews,

“It’s not just me. There are lots of us.”

The Halifax resident said he was in Alberta for work on Monday when he rolled up the rim in the Tim Hortons app and won the AMEX pre-paid card, admitting to disbelief.

“There’s no way I won this. Then your mind starts taking over. Maybe I did. Thinking I can do this and this and this,” says Adams, adding that he was looking forward to the debts he could pay off with the cash winnings.

After contacting Tim Hortons multiple times, he received the same email Rose did, confirming that he was a player impacted by a technical issue.

“Hi Scott, thank you for being a valued Tim Hortons guest. I’m reaching out to share that for a few hours on Monday morning, a technical error caused an issue for a small subset of Roll Up To Win players that you are a part of,” read the email sent to Adams from a Tim Hortons spokesperson.

“Your roll(s) you revealed were entered into the jackpot. Unfortunately, as part of that entry, you were presented with an incorrect award message for a prize that cannot be won instantly. Your prize ‘Timeline’ in the Roll Up To Win game shows the correct entry into the jackpot.”

While Tim Hortons wouldn’t confirm how many people may have experienced the glitch, they stated that they’ve been in contact with some of those impacted to express their regret for the disappointment caused by the error.

“For a few hours on Monday morning, a technical error caused an issue for a small subset of Roll Up To Win players,” writes a Tim Hortons spokesperson in an email to CityNews.

“They were shown an incorrect award message for a prize meant to be awarded once daily to one person in our jackpot draw.”

The Canadian company launched Roll Up To Win, once known as Roll Up The Rim to Win, 35 years ago.

Recently, Tim Hortons migrated the game to their app in 2021 by no longer offering prizes through their cups but instead giving players the experience of rolling up the rim of a virtual cup to win prizes directly on their phones.

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