Hello,
I would like to present the Class 1 Casino stance on this matter.
First some general thoughts about bonus abuse. Unfortunately it is present in the industry and it hurts casinos and genuine casino players. A lot about this subject is also available in different online sources. Most casinos also defend themselves with certain T&C clauses that give the casino the right to decide (in its sole discretion) to ban the user or even refuse to pay any winnings deemed to be won in that abusive manner.
As I saw criticism and speculation about these rules in this forum threads I checked out some other casinos to see if they have similar terms. I have glanced through the T&C of 5 Playtech casinos and about 10 Microgaming. All Playtech casinos I checked had almost identical clauses as Class 1 Casino has. Also I found similar clauses in at least half the checked Microgaming casinos. In some cases the clauses were not so direct, but I believe they are there to ensure against such abuses. All the casinos I have checked are found on Casinomeister Accredited Online Casinos list. Therefore I submit to you that these clauses by themselves are not present solely in Class 1 Casino, but are in fact almost an industry standard.
Of course we understand that customers do not like to see these rules and even more see them being enforced. That is also the reason why we do not use them unless we are completely confident that we have identified a real bonus abuser. Flagging a person as bonus abuser is a harsh claim and it usually has negative consequences for the casino in form of bad publicity. But sometimes it has to be done. Successful bonus abuse usually leads to more bonus abuse and sometimes even fraud. This happens as abusive players move from one casino to another to claim and abuse just the best signup offer. Once the (otherwise long) list of casinos comes to an end, such customers often start creating duplicate accounts. In some cases the bonus abusers that work in a ring have even sufficient computer knowledge to avoid duplicate account detection for a long time.
So once again in short. Class 1 Casino (as most other online casinos) has the means to refuse to pay in case of bonus abuse, but we do not use this unless the abuse really happened.
Now about this case in particular.
The customer was flagged abusive by our fraud department due to the way he played his signup bonus of 300%. We would not disclose his game history here, but since the customer already did it... He bet the first bet to the maximum allowed by our settings at that time and a third of his entire bankroll on a high risk bet. He knew his odds and knew that with using the same strategy in multiple casinos the odds are actually on his side. Genuine customers just don't bet one third of their balance gained with using first signup match bonus. This is usually a bigger than usual player balance since the first bonus is more attractive. All players following bets were placed in a way that minimizes the player loss and maximizes the wagering played out. Player has exceeded the minimal wagering requirement for a minimal amount. One spin less on the game and it would not be enough.
CM forum members can decide for themselves if this play was played with the intention of abusing our bonus. We have decided this was the case.
And the developments after our denial were more than enough to convince us of this.
Mr. Leonhardt did not update this thread with later correspondences. Both emails he posted were from 29.8.2008. On 30.8.2008 he sent us another email. This one had a list of over 50 casino forums and blacklists. He wrote that he is giving us this last chance to pay his winnings or he will post about us in all this forums. He also mentioned that he will take even more drastic measures if we do not comply. We naturally answered that we refuse to be bullied and that we will not change our position. Since it is mostly just links to forum sites I will not post this email here, but if you wish me to, I can.
We would otherwise not post our email correspondences in forums, but since the customer did it, we do not see why not use this ourselves.
The following original email in German and its translation that I will provide are in our opinion without a doubt proofs that we have made the right decision regarding this user and it also shows why we will not reverse our decision no matter what. I think the email speaks for itself and needs not much comment.
Original German mail from Mr. Leonhardt to
support@class1casino.com on 31.8.2008 at 4:38PM (mere 2h before this thread was opened)
Quote:
Hallo,
ich bin dabei Vorbereitungen für die DDoS-Attacke gegen Ihren Web- und
Game-Server durchzuführen. Ich möchte darauf hinweisen, dass das
verbannen der IP-Range meines ISPs keinerleit Schutz gegen die DDoS
(Distributed Denial-of-Service) Attacke bietet. Mir stehen hunderte von
Servern mit starker Anbindung zur Verfügung. Ihr Web- und Game-Server
wird unter der Last von mehreren Hunderttausend Anfragen pro Sekunde
zusammenbrechen. Der Angriff beginnt spätestens in 48 Stunden und wird
sich über 3 Tage hinwegziehen. Danach werde ich Ihnen nochmals die
Gelegenheit geben Ihr Schuld in Höhe von 1065 Euro zu zahlen. Bei
weiterer Weigerung werde ich den Angriff fortsetzen. Sollten Sie sich
dazu bereit erklären Ihre Schild jetzt sofort zu begleichen, werde ich
von den Angriff absehen.
Markus Leonhardt
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English translation of mail from Mr. Leonhardt to
support@class1casino.com on 31.8.2008 at 4:38PM (mere 2h before this thread was opened)
Quote:
Hi,
I have prepared for my DDoS-Attack against your Web- and Game-Server. I want to point out that banning the IP-Address of my ISP is not going to provide you any safety against the DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack. I have hundreds of servers with a strong connection at hand. Your Web- and Game-Server will breakdown under the burden of hundreds of thousands of requests per second. The attack will start not later than in 48 hours and will last for 3 consecutive days. After that I will give you another chance to pay your debt of €1065. In case of further denial I will continue with the attack. If you are ready to pay your debt right away, I will refrain from the attack.
Markus Leonhardt
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