Complaints / Stipulations / Orders

23. Multi-Currency in Casino

If you have chosen to have your casino bankroll currency in GBP or EUR, it is strongly recommended that you upgrade all versions of casino that you may have installed to the latest version which provides full multi-currency functionality. Should you choose to enter an old casino version that has not yet been upgraded, there will be various inaccuracies in the display for which we take no responsibility whatsoever; For example, the game history of rounds played in your registered currency will appear with the wrong currency symbol and the correct history could be viewed only in the new casino version.

The online betting industry is a multi-billion business. People flock to online casinos, like casino online NZ, to bet on their favorite games either for leisure or to earn money. With many online casinos having paid out billions of shillings to lucky winners, it’s only true that people will continue to try their luck. However, what happens when you bet on your favorite games and win a huge amount of money, only for the casino to refuse to pay you?

How do you get them to honor their promise and release the money you earned fair and square? There are various reasons why an online casino would refuse to pay a player. In this article, you will learn all about that, and the steps to take to get your money from them.

Why Would a Casino Refuse to Pay Out Winnings? There are numerous reasons an online casino can decline paying out your winnings. Here are some of them in detail.

Common Complaints at Online Gambling Sites

No doubt the majority of online gambling will run smoothly with little to no issues. But although rare, there are sometimes occasions where things don’t quite go to plan. Below you’ll find some of the most common reasons for customer complaints. We suggest reading through these as they will help you understand some processes and whether there is actually reason to raise a complaint.

Operator Accountability

One of the main purposes of the Malta Gaming Authority is to ensure that online gambling operators are accountable for their actions, and that irresponsible or illegal behaviour will be punished. This accountability provides a lot of security to players online, as, without it, they would be subject to the whims and wishes of the operators, with few ways of protecting their rights.

Operator accountability means that players are able to report any online casino operators that they feel have breached their terms and conditions and are not following the gambling regulations as set out by the Malta Gambling Authority. This player power is priceless to ensuring online casino operators provide a fair and responsible gaming experience to all.

Gambling Commissioner's advice to complainants

Technical or Game Errors

Game errors are rare. For instances where a game does malfunction or freeze most casinos will have a disclaimer in their terms and conditions absolving them of responsibility. In these cases, ALWAYS get a screengrab if you can. You may be reliant on the good will of the casino to help you here, but there are also game logs held by the software supplier that can help resolve these issues.

If you experience a game freeze where connection is lost, before raising it with the casino, try logging off and on again. Your game should re-start where it left off.

Self-Exclusion Complaints

If you are casual gambler, then chances are you won’t have come across self-exclusion before. This is a game changing option designed to help people with gambling addiction or financial issues. In our opinion it has definitely been one of the best regulation changes brought in by the gambling commission. As it helps people who are in a vulnerable position either financially or mentally.

Self-excluding is basically the act of taking matters in to your own hands. As much as casinos are required to monitor player activity and look for tell-tale signs of vulnerability, they’ll never actually know your personal circumstances. So when you feel things may be getting on top of you can impose a time out period on yourself.

By opting out you are telling the casino to block access to your account, as well stopping all communications such as emails and texts. This is where the complaints arise.

Sometimes these measures don’t work as they should, often due to a floor in internal processes; meaning players are still able to gamble or receive gambling communications. This is a serious breach of the Gambling Commission’s regulations and has led to brands such as 888 receiving multi million pound fines.

If this happens to you then not only will you want to raise a complaint with the gambling site, you may also want to consider contacting the UKGC.

Casino Complaints

The majority of virtual venues provide a fair, secure service which keeps loyal members coming back again and again, and we truly hope you will never encounter any issues. However, disputes between players and new online casinos do happen.

Various factors lead to disputes. Perhaps you are struggling to withdraw money due to a technical glitch, and the casino is failing to respond despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue.

Perhaps you won a jackpot fair and square but the casino is refusing to payout. Perhaps you registered with a casino site to claim a casino bonus, which then fails to be activated.

Whatever the issue at the root of the dispute, it can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you are otherwise a fan of the casino itself. On our site, we feature only licensed casinos, which means strict laws apply.

If you have not registered through us, check your casino right now. Any casino which has been licensed by the Gambling Commission, MGA, etc. has to display this on the footer of the webpage.

Ask Gamblers

The AskGamblers casino portal has been around for over 10 years. It has a huge database of reviews, as well as provides up to date information about the casino industry.

They also run the AskGamblers Casino Complaints Service in which they mediate between players and casinos to try to resolve disputes. Their record is impressive in this area. You can start a complaint procedure on their site.

6. Contact the regulatory authority

If all else fails, and the casino does not respond to the problem or they give you a flimsy excuse, then you can also turn to the regulators of the jurisdiction to which the casino is licensed. Information about the respective license numbers can be found on the website of the casino, often at the bottom in the footer. While regulators may not be able to ensure that you receive your winnings, they will keep a closer eye on the casino. If there are too many complaints from players who are denied their payouts then the regulator(s) will intervene and review the situation. In the worst case, the casino will lose its license.

TIME LIMITS

You can make a complaint at any point up to six months after the date on which the incident occurred, however our ability to investigate is greatly assisted if the complaint is lodged within 30 days of the incident. Complaints made after six months will not be considered.

We will ensure that the entire complaints process, including any internal escalation, takes no longer than eight weeks from the date on which we receive your complaint. However, the Social Responsibility code makes provision for licence holders to go over the eight-week limit, if you (the customer) fail to engage with the complaint procedure in a timely manner. For example, if you do not respond to requests for information within a reasonable timeframe, we may decide to ‘stop the clock’, until such time as we receive a response.

If the complaint is not resolved after the eight-week period, the complaints process will still come to an end. At this point, we will write to you to inform you that we have reached the end of our internal complaints & disputes process and issue you with our final decision. We will include details of how to refer the dispute to an independent alternative dispute resolution service (ADR), if you are not satisfied with our final decision.

The formal complaints process can end at any point before the eight weeks are up, if either: the matter is settled, a final decision is reached, or we (the casino and the customer) reach a deadlock.

In this scenario, you still have the option to refer the dispute to an ADR.

When should you complain about a casino?

Online casino complaints perhaps differ from traditional complaints.

Most of the time with any other type of company, cases for complaint are clear cut. Whereas in this industry, the myriad of terms and conditions attached to your online play prevent you from rightfully complaining about many items.

If you were playing with any kind of bonus there are often strenuous terms and conditions attached to it. For example, you are often required to wager that bonus numerous times before you can withdraw it as cash.

If you do try to withdraw the money before it’s been wagered a sufficient number of times, then the money will disappear and you won’t be able to complain about it.

Similarly, there are usually terms about minimum and maximum stakes, minimum time spent on games, and capped winnings on certain games. Not knowing the terms and conditions is unfortunately not an acceptable excuse, so make sure you read and understand them before playing.

Know your Customer (KYC) checks are a common part of the process with dealing with online casinos and they’re usually pretty stringent to prevent any possibility of criminal money laundering. Therefore, you cannot complain about being asked to provide information such as your ID, utility bills or proof of funds as part of this process.

Finally, there is nothing worse than winning a huge payout, only for the game to crash and you restart it only to find you haven’t won anything. Once again, most (if not all) online casinos insert a clause in their terms that says they are not liable for gaming errors, crashes or internet connection failures.

So with this long list of items that you can’t complain about, what can you lodge a complaint for?

• When a casino is unreasonably slow to pay out your winnings
• When a casino alters or lowers your balance (theft)
• When a casino refuses to pay out despite you abiding all of their terms and conditions
• A casino does not uphold a self-imposed ban to stop you gambling
• A casino withholds bonus funds that should be rightfully yours as cash
• When your account is closed without explanation (with funds trapped inside)

26. Right to void

26.1  Where, on the Website, we make an error (whether human or otherwise), we will be entitled to declare the transaction/wager void and withhold any payments. 26.2     We have the authority to adjust your account to reflect the true outcome and rectify the error. An example of such an error might be where a failure occurs in one of our systems or where we enter a result of an event incorrectly. 26.3 Players found abusing such errors/malfunctions are subject to having their account closed and any deposits and/or winnings forfeited.

You Failed to Provide Verification Documents

Before a casino can pay out your winnings, it has to verify that you are who you claim to be. Among an online casino’s vital Terms and Conditions is identity verification, and you need to read the user agreement before registering a betting account.

To avoid verification problems, players need to provide the required documents for the same. They include an ID, proof of deposit, and a utility bill dating back to not more than 90 days.

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What to Do If a Casino Refuses to Pay Out Your Winnings

If you have met all the above requirements but the casino still refuses to release your money, there are several ways you use to get them to pay. Some of them include:

Contact Support Staff Armed with Evidence

After winning at an online casino and they don’t pay you, the first step should be to stop the game until you get the problem solved. Have screenshots of your winnings, payment history, balance, chat history, or save emails. These are all vital in case of a dispute.

Proceed to contact customer service, and listen to their side of the story. If they point out a violation on your part, ensure that you understand everything. Have them explain everything so that you can understand which violation you made. If they try to blow you off and don’t offer you any explanation or facts, take the next steps.

Complaining to the Slot or Casino Site

You will find that most sites will want to resolve any issues that are raised by players. Bad customer service online can easily become poor word of mouth and lead to a drop in new players and revenue. That is why reputable gaming sites will always last longer than scam sites who are purely in it for the profit.

With that in mind the obvious response is going directly to the casino site as your first step. Our advice is to remain calm, even if you feel angered by the issue. Maybe take some time out to reset your thoughts and write down what you want to say.

When you are ready to contact the gaming site you will find that they should have an online complaints process, either within their terms and conditions or the FAQ section. If there is a search bar this should lead you to the area you want much quicker.

Most casino sites will have a customer services team, either inhouse or outsourced. These teams are trained to sort out any queries or issues that players may have, so they should be able to correct any matters quickly and fairly.

Making the Complaint – To make a complaint you will need to head to their contact section and choose your preferred method. For most sites this will include Live Chat, Email, Post, Text Message, Telephone or Web Message. Some offer support via social media such as Facebook and Twitter, so this maybe an option.

Once you have chosen which you will use, then you simply need to provide the details of your complaint. As previously mentioned, we would always recommend writing it down beforehand so that you ensure that you have provided all the information needed to resolve the matter. The site can only work with the information that they have, so try and give them as much detail as you can.

What to Provide – You have chosen the format of how you want to contact the site but are probably wondering what information they will need. This again will vary according to the site’s terms and conditions, but generally these are the basics.

• Your full name,
• Your username,
• Any security or pin codes required,
• Your contact details,
• Full details of the complaint – Including dates and times of when the incident occurred and any supporting evidence.

You should be aware that many sites have a dispute period, which tends to be up to 12 months. This means that if your complaint or issue is older than 12 months old, they will not investigate it. Following your completion of the complaint, you should receive some form of automated response or receipt. If not, then ask the site to email you to confirm acceptance of your complaint and the date it was received. This may be required should you have to take it further to a third party.

Make sure during this time that any conversations you have with the gambling site are recorded, so that you have the evidence should you need it. For example if you have chosen live chat as your forum to complain, then screen capture relevant parts.

Complaint Outcome – The complaint would then be assessed, and the site will determine if there is an issue and look at resolving the matter. They will indicate a response time when you send in the complaint, but this will be dependent on how big the issue is. Most of the assessment should be done within the first 24 hours.

If when they respond you are not satisfied with the outcome, then most sites will offer an appeals process. This will still be an internal investigation, but it should be conducted by someone in a senior or managerial position. Their response will be final, so again if you are not pleased with the response then you will want to consider external mediation and support.