Need Help With A Sci Fi Cashout

**Linus** · 6th June 2006, 06:23 AM

Good luck, sneak attack.

Unfortunately, this shows the dangers of gambling on the internet. Too many casinos think paying their customers when they win is optional.

Apparantly SciFi is one of them.

**Linus** · 6th June 2006, 06:42 AM

Sneakattack, looking at their T&C's now, I see, "Maximum Cash Out: 5 Times the amount of the bonus."

Did they add that after you played?

**spearmaster** · 6th June 2006, 07:24 AM

I will check with them today. They indicated to me that they would look at the logs but for some reason RTG's logging system is a bit antiquated so it will take a little time.

CROGO - very weird...

**CROGO** · 7th June 2006, 02:39 AM

Originally Posted by chuchu59

There was no mention in the terms and conditions(both general and $15 no-deposit) that players from Poland were disallowed. They only oust several Asian countries, including Hong Kong. Hmmph! Even if they exclude Polish players, you are only playing from poland and if you can prove your residency, there is no reason why they should not cough up the measly amount which would be no more than $50.

The amount was $34. I sent several emails asking that they call me at my US phone number. The only reply I received was from Harold Ackerman:

Greetings from all at Sci-Fi Casino! As you were informed in the previous email, all the players from Poland are not allowed to play in this casino, your account clearly shows the following IP address: 83.21.60.199, which is registered in Warsaw the capital of Poland. Our Security Department has banned all the players from Poland and many other countries due to security reasons. Therefore, when a player from a banned country attempts to use the software and change the country or address will get the account closed and all the money will be removed from the account. Please understand that this is a serious business with a good reputation within the gambling industry for more than 6 years. We do not appreciate threats or menaces either. For all the reasons explained above you won't get any of the money you used and your account will not be reopened. Have a good one! Respectfully,
Harold Ackerman
Sci-Fi Casino Support
www.sci-fi-casino.com

Again the IP address tracks to Szczecin, Poland on the German border.

If they want to use the IP address as the sole determining fact, then why not just block people from these IP addresses from playing? It would be easy enough. But they want to take money from these people and use the IP address to deny payments me thinks...

Good thing I didn't deposit any real money here!

**chuchu59** · 7th June 2006, 04:17 AM

CROGO,

I agree with you on the IP address issue. They could have blocked everyone registering an account from these IP addresses. What I dont understand is why there is no mention of the banning of polish players. What if there is a Polish player registering from the US for example. Will he be banned? What if an account holder who plays regularly goes to Poland on vacation and plays from that country? Will he be banned? The list of questions will go on and on.

Spearmaster,

Since you are helping Sneakattack in his case, can you help CROGO as well. The e-mail from Sci-fi just seems too high-handed. I know that this may not be the whole story but as you mentioned in your last post it does seem weird.

**sneakattack** · 7th June 2006, 05:19 AM

The 5 times max cashout has been there since i signed up, its not new. However I was planning on cashing out the max 1250 or 1500 im not sure which it is and than trying to accumulate lots and lots of comp points.

**spearmaster** · 7th June 2006, 05:41 PM

sneakattack, expect contact from Sci-Fi soon.

CROGO - looking into this at the moment.

**SciFiGroup** · 7th June 2006, 07:19 PM

Hi,
We have reviewed this issue, and we are willing to honor this cashout in the amount of $1250. In our opinion, the CS rep made a direction change in the live chat once they knew it was a deposit bonus. However, we see how this could have been a misunderstanding. We also determined by checking the logs that the extra $15 wasn't a factor. We have made sure all reps will be more careful in the future.

We must be clear that the player did, in fact, violate 2 of our terms and conditions, and that this should not be an excuse to violate terms. We are making changes in our live chat support to assure that the terms and conditions are consulted prior to any involvement with bonuses at the casino.

One other thing I would like to have cleared up. In a followup to our post you suggested this to the community:

1. In my conversation with CS i asked if i could also get the 250 match bonus in addition to the 15 free i had been given the code for. The answer was Yes. I was told that i could get the 250 also, meaning in addition. CS told me or at the very least let me believe that both bonuses could be simultaneously claimed.

These are false statements. This was never said in chat. We need to be very clear about that. That is misleading and it pulled other community members into followup accusations based on false information.

I have worked very hard to resolve this issue, and I appreciate your patience. Your payout will be processed shortly.

Thanks
SciFi

**chuchu59** · 7th June 2006, 07:57 PM

Pleased to see that the casino does the right thing. I liked the part about the $15 not being a factor for arriving at the winnings. Kudos to spearmaster as well.

**Linus** · 7th June 2006, 08:03 PM

Originally Posted by SciFiGroup

These are false statements. This was never said in chat. We need to be very clear about that. That is misleading and it pulled other community members into followup accusations based on false information.

Sneakattack quoted the CS chat in full. I don't think he was misleading. Had it been me, I would have interpreted the chat the same way he did.

However,

We have reviewed this issue, and we are willing to honor this cashout in the amount of $1250.

I'm pleased you changed your mind about the payout. I think it's a good thing when casinos maintain an open line of communication with players - both the ones they already have, and ones they may have in the future.