Casino applied its max bet rules retroactively

[Gr4nnycasher]

bear with me this story is a little long so will try boil it down as much as possible.

signed up to an online casino i wont name for the time being and deposited 30 and recieved a bonus sum of 30

on the site you have 2 balances at the top of the screen, your cash balance and bonus balance

rules stated you had to wager 40x your bonus and deposit in order to withdraw, i believe that is 2400 however im sure the progress bar they provided for this was over 2800, i digress

i missed a rule stating the wager limit was £5, and that if at any point you wagered over this amount they would remove your bonus funds.

here's where it gets odd

i broke this rule 21 times according to them, however i completed the bonus, and all bonus funds were transferred to my cash balance.

i sent my id and proof of address over.

they accepted these proofs, at this point i had a cash balance of 600

i withdrew 500, and carried on playing with the 100

i hit a max win on a slot and won 6000

i withdrew the 6000, both these withdrawals stated pending

4 days later i received an email informing me that i had broken their rules and they had confiscated all my winnings and returned my initial deposit to me.

i logged a complaint and asked for proof of the rule breaking

was going to leave it there and chalk it up to experience however a couple of days ago i received an email from their complaints team saying they had not changed their position on my rule breaking but taking all matters into consideration they offered me 200 as a gesture of good will.

now its got me thinking there is something more there, why would they offer me 200 to go away if there wasn't. its not like i have pestered them over it. i've never encountered a site that has a max bet rule on these bonus funds but will still let you place the bet, that's a clear trap. surely the fact the rule specifically states they can remove bonus funds, but they had already transferred my bonus funds into my cash balance gives me a leg to stand on and fight this? or should i just take the 200?

have tried 3 different solicitors one turned it down the other refused on the basis that fighting it would cost more than i would get back. but accepting the 200 feels like a kick in the teeth tbh

hope someone can help here


this is a uk casino based in malta there license checks out ok but they have a lot of similar reviews like this across the internet which i wish i had read first but im here now so

 

[Avernite]

If you breached the $5 max rule while in bonus funds I'd just take the $200 mate. It's better than most do and more than they have to.

 

[Toomza]

If you breached the $5 max rule while in bonus funds I'd just take the $200 mate. It's better than most do and more than they have to.

Exactly. Many casinos would not even consider offering good will gesture when breaching bonus T&C

 

[Gr4nnycasher]

If you breached the $5 max rule while in bonus funds I'd just take the $200 mate. It's better than most do and more than they have to.

this is what i was thinking tbh, but figured id ask see if there was any hope

 

[hubbadubbadingdong]

People get burnt for a single +£5 spin, 21 spins you are ahead take the $$ and run chap….

 

[Avernite]

this is what i was thinking tbh, but figured id ask see if there was any hope

I know it'll feel like giving up 6.5k, but try and think of it more like you've made 170 profit.

As for bonuses in general make sure you scour the T&Cs before ever accepting one. It's situations like this that make me rarely accept bonuses.

 

[jasonuk]

The only out I can think of is if the problematic spins happened in your cash balance, and you never dipped into the bonus funds at any point - even when it was converted to cash.

Under UKGC rules, cash balances and bonus funds are split and the rules that apply to each can vary - but these rules are vastly different from site to site so the precise T&Cs are important.

If you dipped into the bonus funds at any point, then technically your balance is zero - deposit returned is already more than fair, any goodwill above that is generous.

For bonuses, you absolutely have to read the small print because mistakes can be extremely costly - as unfortunately you've discovered.

i've never encountered a site that has a max bet rule on these bonus funds but will still let you place the bet, that's a clear trap.

I would counter that and say the number is close to 100%... they could impose technical solutions, but much better for their bottom line to let you make the mistake and void your winnings. This forum is littered with people who made an innocent mistake (in some cases one spin), didn't bother to read the rules, or trying to pull a fast one - and all had their winnings confiscated for breaching the terms of a bonus.

surely the fact the rule specifically states they can remove bonus funds, but they had already transferred my bonus funds into my cash balance gives me a leg to stand on and fight this? or should i just take the 200?

A variation of the same argument, few sites automatically enforce bonus violations - they'll do it at withdrawal instead. Just because the bonus funds were released doesn't absolve any violations of the bonus terms.