Golden Reef - Cash in request refunded, struggling to get an explanation.

[vinylweatherman]

I'm watching this with interest.

I have been upgraded to Platinum Elite, and we have been invited to Las Vegas in September, which means I get to give Vinoka a piece of my mind IN PERSON!

I will be mentioning this EZBonus issue and the 50x WR. I will also ask why, yet again, a Platinum player finds out about these nasties in the casinomeister forum and not by newsletter or casino mail from the casino.

It might be worth seeing if Neteller Instant payment is blocked by this audit rule, or whether it can bypass their policy of refunding despite clearance from EZBonus.

I doubt I would get this run-around as a Platinum Player (but I could be wrong!), maybe they are being unduly harsh on new sign-ups. Previously, when I have had EZBonus pass a cash-in and had it rejected at audit (audit in Instant Payments), they simply asked me to reverse it ,and they manually cleared the WR so it could be cashed out through Instant Payments.

Having read the terms, they are confusing. It is not at all clear which of the terms is the one to be obeyed, both "you can cash out at any time... and bonus balance is set to zero", and "..will only be approved if the full WR has been met", can't both be true at face value.

If there is a difference between how the sign-up bonus is treated from normal loyalty bonuses there is no mention of this. Seems to me that Platinum Elite players have to wager the bonus 50x on slots, where VIP players at the recently disgraced Jackpot Factory have to wager their bonus a mere 15x, AND can use the option to sacrifice unearned bonus.

[Droid8]

Hi all,

Following on from my last post, I finished the wager requirement and finished up to the tune of an extra £150. I do feel that was a little bit of justice to be quite honest. I have requested my cash out and we shall see what happens from here. Surely it must be authorised this time?!?!?!?

I hear what you're saying mousey, maybe I should have pitched a bitch. I was starting to think though, after they refunded my bonus and I posted so on here, that the consensus was that it was a fair solution, though maybe overall people didn't think that and I should have waited a little longer for responses.

Anyway at least I was lucky, but I certainly won't be re-depositing there again.

D8

Vinylweatherman : Who is Vionka??? Excuse my ignorance, I'm a newbie!!!

[Stanford]

Originally Posted by chuchu59

Hi Stanford,

Havent heard from you for a long time. How are things going at the moment?

Things are going well. I see some things have not changed in my absense. Golden Reef has been delaying payouts for as long as I can remember.

Hopefully, they are not on anyone's recommended list.

Hope things are going well for you.

Stanford

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by Droid8

Hi all,

Following on from my last post, I finished the wager requirement and finished up to the tune of an extra £150. I do feel that was a little bit of justice to be quite honest. I have requested my cash out and we shall see what happens from here. Surely it must be authorised this time?!?!?!?

I hear what you're saying mousey, maybe I should have pitched a bitch. I was starting to think though, after they refunded my bonus and I posted so on here, that the consensus was that it was a fair solution, though maybe overall people didn't think that and I should have waited a little longer for responses.

Anyway at least I was lucky, but I certainly won't be re-depositing there again.

D8

Vinylweatherman : Who is Vionka??? Excuse my ignorance, I'm a newbie!!!

Vinoka is the VIP services manager, a rung or two above the general CS. I have been corresponding with Vinoka for a while, on subjects as diverse as the World Cup to botched promotions and buggy cash-out procedures.
The point I will be raising is about this EZBonus, players are supposed to be able to withdraw at any time, and any remaining bonus will be deducted, or they can play on and win the entire amount. Other MG casinos use it the way MG intended, which was to do away with arguments about WR and excluded games. Golden Reef seem to be advertising EZBonus, but are not implementing it the way that was intended. It seems the software is working as intended by MG, and they have to manually bodge it to prevent a withdrawal at approval. I also want to know when 30x became 50x. It was 30x only a while ago when it was introduced, and is now 50x, but I don't remember seeing this announced, but many far less important things HAVE been announced to players by E-mail and/or message of the day.

I have worked out that even at 30x on slots, the bonus has a negative expected value, at 50x there is no chance. They have also savagely cut the prizes in the remaining tournaments (Munchkin Monday and Thursday Thunder), by half, and this prize must also be wagered 50x on slots.
There is virtually no value left in these casinos even for me as Platinum VIP, other than an annual visit to Vegas (provided they keep this up).
The only tournament that might still be worth playing are the likes of the World Cup draw, where entries are earned by depositing and wagering it through only once. With Neteller instant payments it is possible for a VIP to use the SAME $2500 or so in all 5 casinos each DAY for maximum entries (deposit, wager 1x for entries, withdraw by Neteller Instant, and move to next one).
The WR for a VIP at All Slots is a mere 15x in comparison, and Palace Group use the standard 30x and allow full rights to withdraw early and lose the remaining bonus.

[balo500]

With all these issues, why is goldenreef casino still on the accredited casino list? What is going on? This is kind of misleading.

Thanks.

[jerrylee]

Originally Posted by Droid8

I ended up on £513 including the bonus. I then withdrew my cash balance (£423) as I was happy with my winnings.
However this £423 has been returned to my account since and the bonus has gone.

Haven't read the whole thread but before crying foul, notice that the cash out of £423 is not £513 - £100 bonus, but £10 more.
So I think the casino voided this withdrawal since WR not met and no part of bonus cashable.
If OP cashes out for £413, will it go through?

[aka23]

Originally Posted by jerrylee

Haven't read the whole thread but before crying foul, notice that the cash out of £423 is not £513 - £100 bonus, but £10 more.
So I think the casino voided this withdrawal since WR not met and no part of bonus cashable.
If OP cashes out for £413, will it go through?

I haven't read through the whole thread either, but the Casino Profit Share / Casino Action group requires players to complete wagering requirements on bonuses, unlike standard Clearplays where winnings can be cashed out without meeting the playthrough. The player can forfeit the bonus prior to beginning playthrough by calling support.

Having bonuses that are automatically credited, must be played through, and have high wagering requirements is a poor system that is certain to lead to problems. They should either not credit the bonus automatically (for example have a form submission) or allow players to cash out winnings without meeting the playthrough.

[vinylweatherman]

Post Las Vegas,
Bit of a disaster, the hotel was undergoing refurbishment and the staff were worse than Casino Rewards CS on a bad day

Staff either knew nothing about the event, nor could they tell me which bar we were supposed to meet up at. They also seemed unable to count, they said only two bars existed, and I searched FOUR and still didn't find them! The Golf was lost due to staff not knowing where the "taxi rank" was, directing me instead to the opposite end of a half mile internal road (with a bend in it!).
Vinoka did NOT escape the "earful" though, as I was able to catch up with them on Saturday for the dinner and helicopter ride.

I was told that SOME changes were to be made.

1) A tweak to lower WR (possibly back to 30x), but I have not seen this yet.

2) Change to loyalty programme due to an exploit I mentioned, and demonstrated

3) Changes to tournaments (the prizes of the existing two have been increased).

4) Further competitions will be run following the World Cup and Car or Cash promotions. (No date yet available for the next one). No, I didn't win the car as well


The explanation for the tight WR was that they were hit very heavily by the "bonus whores" and introduced the rules as a deterrent to them opening accounts just for the initial bonus.


There is still this problem with the EZBonus, and their rules that all WR must be met to withdraw. Presumably this is to combat the technique of placing a big bet with D+B and cashing out upon winning. (This technique does work mathematically, and is a valid concern).

Another suggestion has been enacted, they now have a "meet the team" photo on the website, not up to 32Red level mind, but it's a start. Phone support is being introduced for VIP players. It is a case of a VIP requesting access, and they may be given the number. Hopefully, phone support will be more widely available as occasionally the E-mail and live chat system break down or clog up.