Alright, I was intrigued enough by this, so here is what I did:
I went to
www.jackpotcity.com which redirected to this URL:
http://www.jackpotcity.com/casino/eng/index.aspx
I clicked the download button. I got a pop-up with the casino software download, there was nothing confirming or requiring me to agree to the terms and conditions anywhere so far.
I opened the casino software and got this page:
END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT
1. Licence
1.1. You are licensed to download and use this Microgaming front-end software (the ‘software’) to play Microgaming games at sites that are licensed to use Microgaming software. You may also copy the software for this purpose. This licence is granted subject to all of the terms and conditions in this End User Licence. Please read them carefully.
2. Restrictions
2.1. All rights in the software are reserved, and you may use the software only as licensed to you. Save as is expressly authorised in this licence, you may not copy, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble or otherwise attempt to access the source code of the software, or modify, adapt, or translate the software, or otherwise do anything to or with the software that is not strictly required for normal licensed use. The architecture and code of the software is a valuable trade secret of Microgaming, and you undertake not to disclose any information relating to the architecture or code that you may obtain from downloading or use of the software.
3. PERMISSION FOR COOKIES
3.1. YOU AGREE THAT MICROGAMING CAN FROM TIME TO TIME USE A COOKIE ON YOUR DISK TO SAVE INFORMATION (SUCH AS USER NAME, PASSWORD, OTHER PERSONAL DETAILS, EMAIL ADDRESS) SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RE-ENTER THIS INFORMATION EACH TIME YOU VISIT THE SITE. THIS COOKIE CANNOT BE USED TO RUN PROGRAMS OR DELIVER VIRUSES TO YOUR COMPUTER, AND IS UNIQUELY ASSIGNED TO YOU. IT CAN ONLY BE READ BY A WEB SERVER IN THE DOMAIN THAT ISSUED THE COOKIE TO YOU. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THE COOKIE IS TO ENABLE YOU TO SAVE TIME, AND FACILITATE FUTURE ACCESS TO THE SITE.
4. Transfer
4.1. You have no transferable rights in the software or this licence, and you may not sub-licence or rent out the software or assign or otherwise dispose of this software for value, nor attempt to do so.
5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
5.1. IN NO EVENT WILL MICROGAMING OR ITS LICENSEES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, PURE ECONOMIC OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, OR ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST SAVINGS, EVEN IF A MICROGAMING REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS, DAMAGES, CLAIMS OR COSTS OR FOR ANY CLAIM BY ANY THIRD PARTY. MICROGAMING’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY AND THAT OF ITS SUPPLIERS UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID FOR THE SOFTWARE, IF ANY. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS AGREEMENT LIMITS MICROGAMING’S LIABILITY TO YOU IN THE EVENT OF DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY ARISING FROM MICROGAMING’S NEGLIGENCE.
6. General
6.1. If any part of this licence is found to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, then the remainder of the licence shall remain in force. Nothing in this agreement shall affect any overriding statutory rights that you may have under the law of any competent jurisdiction.
7. Law
7.1. This licence shall be governed by English Law excluding any English conflict of law rules, and the courts of England shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes arising from the use of the software or arising from this licence.
If you just skipped by there, there is not a shred of information in there pertaining to bonuses, limitations per group or any of the general terms that are buried on their web page.
On the signup page where I entered my information there is NO link to any terms or conditions, no URL anywhere for the terms, and nothing that discusses any promotional or general terms and conditions.
In other words, ANY customer is perfectly capable of signing up for a Bellerock casino without agreeing to ANY terms and conditions because at no point does the software prompt you to agree to ANY terms aside from the above listed terms.
Furthermore, I checked the terms of the Gaming Club signup bonus, which assuming they are the same now as when scrabbled signed up read as follows:
100% Match Bonus up to 100 offer at The Gaming Club Online Casino
This promotion (this "Promotion") is brought to you by The Gaming Club Online Casino (the "Casino") and is open to first time Player’s ("Player/s") at the Casino who open their first Real Money Account during the Promotion.
* As a Player you may choose the currency in which you wish to open your New Real Money Account. The available currencies are Pounds Sterling, US Dollars, Canadian Dollars and Euros. Under the terms of this Promotion if you choose to operate your new Real Money Account in Pounds Sterling and make a first single deposit of at least £10 (10 Pounds Sterling) you will receive a Sign-Up Bonus of £10 (10 Pounds Sterling) ("Sign-Up Bonus"). If you choose to operate your new Real Money Account in US Dollars and make a first single deposit of at least $50 (fifty US Dollars) you will receive a Sign-Up Bonus of $50 (fifty US Dollars) ("Sign-Up Bonus"), if you choose to operate your new Real Money Account in Canadian Dollars and make a first single deposit of at least C$50 (fifty Canadian Dollars) you will receive a Sign-Up Bonus of C$50 (fifty Canadian Dollars) ("Sign-Up Bonus") and if you choose to operate your new Real Money Account in Euros and make a first single deposit of at least €10 (fifty Euros) you will receive a Sign-Up Bonus of €10 (fifty Euros) ("Sign-Up Bonus").
* The Sign-Up Bonus must be played through 30 times (30x) by you before it can be transferred from your Bonus Balance to your Cash Balance ("Play Through Requirement").
* Wagering on all games except Roulette, Sic Bo, Craps, Baccarat, Table Poker, Casino War & Red Dog will count towards meeting the Play Through Requirement; however the percentage of the Sign-Up Bonus which may be wagered on certain games will vary as follows*:
Game
Percentage
Slots, Keno & Scratch Card games
100%
Video Poker, all Blackjacks
10%
All Roulette, Sic Bo, Craps, Baccarat, Table Poker, Casino War, Red dog
0%
* Progressive games will contribute to the Play Through Requirement as per the game type. For example, Progressive Slots will contribute 100% to the Play Through Requirement.
**Please note that games played using the gamble feature will not count towards the Play Through Requirement.
* After fulfilling the total wager requirements on your first bonus you can withdraw from your cash balance at any time.
* If you are resident in Netherlands, China, Israel, Denmark and The Russian Federation you are not eligible for this Promotion.
* Sign-Up Bonuses must be claimed within 72 hours of opening a Real Account.
* A Sign-Up Bonus must be claimed online and will be paid into the Bonus Balance of your Casino account as Casino credits within 24 hours of such a claim being made.
* If you open multiple accounts you will not be eligible for the Sign-Up Bonuses on each account. The Sign-Up-Bonuses are only available once per Player and/or per environment where computers are shared and/or per e-mail address.
* If the Sign-Up Bonus remains unused in your Bonus Balance for two (2) months or longer from the date the claim was made, the Sign-Up Bonus will be forfeited to the Casino.
* The Casino Terms and Conditions apply to this Promotion. In the event of a conflict between these Promotion-specific Terms and Conditions and the Casino Terms and Conditions, the Promotion-specific Terms and Conditions shall prevail but only to the extent that the Terms and Conditions conflict with one another.
* In the event of any dispute, the decision of the Casino management will be considered full and final. No correspondence will be entered into in this regard.
* The Casino management reserves the right to end or amend this Promotion at any time.
* Any terms not defined in this Promotion's Terms and Condition or the Casino’s Standard Terms and Conditions shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Microgaming Bonus System Tutorial
** Please refer to the "Withdrawal Menu" in the Casino Bank for further details of how this affects your play
Again, no mention of limitation regarding claiming multiple bonuses in the group, no confiscation details etc. There is no legitimate reason to think that a player would have been forced to read the general terms (which what Bellerock is trying to enforce here) because IT IS NOT REQUIRED TO DO SO TO SIGNUP AND PLAY. Not a single acceptance of the general terms to enroll is required anywhere, and neither the promotional page, nor the terms that they link to when claiming the bonus list a single sentence about restricting the bonuses to one per group.
So no, Bellerock, your terms are not clearly posted, they are not easily accessible, and yes people DO need to "ferret it out" as you have written. I think you need to man up, admit you are wrong and pay the people affected by this.
This is an exceptionally bad business procedure in my eyes.