Lucky Nugget Bonus Problem?

[smallfishy]

Hi,

I noticed the $1000 free play at Lucky Nugget advertised on this site and decided to sign up.

I wagered 1000 credits and was well up so I claimed my maximum of $50 credits.

I deposited $50 and my freeplay credits were not transferred immediately so I chatted to live support - I then noticed this in the Ts and Cs Link:

- All winnings transferred to a Real account will be subject to standard play-through requirements.
- If you attempt a withdrawal before fulfilling all the play-through requirements of the welcome bonus, you will forfeit your cash winnings and Bonus Balance.
- In the interest of avoiding any confusion related to the bonus offer, please be certain to read the play-through requirements contained in the Promotion- specific Terms & Conditions.

So I asked live support if I had to wager anything to withdraw my freeplay winnings - and the reply was that I have to wager the bonus 30 times. I asked them where on their website does it state this - and they pointed me towards the same Ts and Cs I have quoted above which mention no specific WR for the Freeplay bonus, only for the instant deposit bonus.

So I'm feeling a little annoyed - but think hey I can claim the sign up bonus and get another free $50 when I deposit. So I go to the Sign Up page and notice that you apparently can't claim both the $1000 Freeplay and the Deposit Bonus - even though this isn't stated in the terms and conditions - this URL is the only place this is stated.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems like a bit of a sham. The $1000 Freeplay is attached to phrases like "Win as much as you can" (Click Promotions) and "Keep your winnings" - but the best situation you can hope for is the same as the standard first deposit bonus....which apparently you can't claim if you do the $1000 Freeplay and don't win.

Is this worth making a complaint about?

[lojo]

It's complete and utter BS, it isn't gambling. Can you find a casino, and lay your money down?

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by smallfishy

Hi,

I noticed the $1000 free play at Lucky Nugget advertised on this site and decided to sign up.

I wagered 1000 credits and was well up so I claimed my maximum of $50 credits.

I deposited $50 and my freeplay credits were not transferred immediately so I chatted to live support - I then noticed this in the Ts and Cs Link:

- All winnings transferred to a Real account will be subject to standard play-through requirements.
- If you attempt a withdrawal before fulfilling all the play-through requirements of the welcome bonus, you will forfeit your cash winnings and Bonus Balance.
- In the interest of avoiding any confusion related to the bonus offer, please be certain to read the play-through requirements contained in the Promotion- specific Terms & Conditions.

So I asked live support if I had to wager anything to withdraw my freeplay winnings - and the reply was that I have to wager the bonus 30 times. I asked them where on their website does it state this - and they pointed me towards the same Ts and Cs I have quoted above which mention no specific WR for the Freeplay bonus, only for the instant deposit bonus.

So I'm feeling a little annoyed - but think hey I can claim the sign up bonus and get another free $50 when I deposit. So I go to the Sign Up page and notice that you apparently can't claim both the $1000 Freeplay and the Deposit Bonus - even though this isn't stated in the terms and conditions - this URL is the only place this is stated.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems like a bit of a sham. The $1000 Freeplay is attached to phrases like "Win as much as you can" (Click Promotions) and "Keep your winnings" - but the best situation you can hope for is the same as the standard first deposit bonus....which apparently you can't claim if you do the $1000 Freeplay and don't win.

Is this worth making a complaint about?

This statement is misleading under the advertising code of conduct. It is grossly misleading on 2 points. "Win as much as you can" is plain wrong, and so is "keep your winnings".
The key is the fact that, legally, restricting the transfer to $50 (£50) is not consistent with the first statement, and the second is false since you have to wager 30x the transferred amount, and "keep" legally implies they are already yours to withdraw at will (and that would be a plain daft offer for any casino to give out).
Many advertisements embroider the facts, but legally they must NOT MISLEAD or LIE about the offer, heavy fines can result.
This is pertinent to this case, as this lot are licenced in the EU (Gibraltar) and the laws do indeed apply to their advertisements insofar as they apply to EU resident companies.
To comply with the law, such MG adverts must be reworded to make it clear that all you are doing is playing to earn a fixed introductory bonus, not to win a big stack to transfer. If the adverts were truthful, they would get a far lower takeup as players would see what a bad deal it really was.

Lucky Nugget have now joined Grand Mondial and Spin Palace with their spamming campaigns. As a Gibraltar licenced outfit they should know better.


Although the OP is Australian, any EU resident receiving this offer in this form can make a complaint to the advertising watchdogs. We do NOT have to take up the offer, just show that the advertising copy is in breach of the rules by submitting it along with evidence showing how the "small print" contradicts what is offered in the main advert copy. Internet ads ARE covered where the offending company is EU resident.

Seasoned players know these offers are worthless anyway, and will not be impressed by this steady escalation of the "free cash" to ever more striking headline grabbing numbers.
They could call it £10,000 or even £100,000 - it would look good, but would be equally as bad as £1000, or even the £500 it used to be when this type of offer came out (when the max transfer was also a more inviting £200).

These casinos would be better advised spending their budgets keeping their existing players enthusiastic.
When existing players see their own table scraps, and compare them with the banquet laid on for potential new ones, they feel unwanted, and probably drift away to play elsewhere, or even not at all.

[loganberry]

Originally posted by VWM...
It is grossly misleading on 2 points. "Win as much as you can" is plain wrong, and so is "keep your winnings".
The key is the fact that, legally, restricting the transfer to $50 (£50) is not consistent with the first statement, and the second is false since you have to wager 30x the transferred amount, and "keep" legally implies they are already yours to withdraw at will (and that would be a plain daft offer for any casino to give out).
Many advertisements embroider the facts, but legally they must NOT MISLEAD or LIE about the offer, heavy fines can result.

I agree unreservedly with VWM. However, this promotion is still being touted on this site by CM, and I'm afraid I don't understand why. Is it not grossly misleading after all? Is there something we are missing?

The following post .... by AKA23 on the 19th of November ... along exactly the same lines, does not seem to have been addressed by CM, despite his response.

Originally Posted by aka23
I enjoy the forum, and you are doing an excellent job with the website. A minor issue to improve the site is changing the Lucky Nugget annoucement, which appears above the forum posts and in the newsletter. It states:

"Here is their current promotion for Lucky Nugget: €1000 FREE PLUS Buy €50, Get €50: Win as much as you can with a one hour, €1000 FREE casino experience..."

I think this is misleading way to state their promotion. You can win up to a $50 bonus from the $1000 free play... not exactly "win as much as you can." So if you get a nice win and end $5000 above your starting balance, you only get to keep $50 in bonus winnings. And this $50 in bonus winnings cannot be cashed out. Instead you must wager it 30x on slots or keno, or 300x on blackjack or video poker. I don't think anyone would understand the actual (and less desirable) terms of the bonus from just the forum/newsletter announcement. They likely would not know the bonus terms from reading the Lucky Nugget website after clicking on the links either, as the terms are quite difficult to find.

CM's response...
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have them relook at the ad copy.

[maxd]

I've alerted the rep to this thread. They were on line last Wednesday so hopefully they're respond quickly.

[loganberry]

Bump...

Originally posted by maxd on Jan 7th:
I've alerted the rep to this thread. They were on line last Wednesday so hopefully they're respond quickly.

I notice that this promotion is still available on CM's Home page. So despite all the controversy caused by the misleading terms and conditions, it appears as if the only people really concerned are the players, no-one else.

My faith and trust in accredited casinos is taking a bit of a knocking here.

[markjacob]

Originally Posted by loganberry

Bump...



I notice that this promotion is still available on CM's Home page. So despite all the controversy caused by the misleading terms and conditions, it appears as if the only people really concerned are the players, no-one else.

My faith and trust in accredited casinos is taking a bit of a knocking here.

Well said.

[maxd]

Well, no response from the rep. I see if I can't find out CM's recent thoughts on this.

[maxd]

A number of Lucky Nugget issues have been posted, and become cross-linked recently. They are:

Lucky Nugget Announcement

Lucky Nugget Bonus Problem?

Lucky Nugget (Belle Rock) Bonus Warning !!

I've asked the BelleRock rep to comment on these and have had this reply back:

With reference to 1 & 2 on your list, we did review the ad copy on our sites and to avoid confusion we have amended it accordingly. With reference to the 3rd posting on your list I did respond already on the forum. What I did not say is that the reason for the change of requirements on sign up bonuses is that the system was abused by bonus hunters. For all other bonuses the EZ bonus system works exactly as advertised on the site.

[AudiManinBoro]

I know that a while ago jackpotcity refused to comply with the EZbonus system when i hit a large wind and wished to forfeit the remainder of my bonus which was only about 20 quid or so anyway but they woudlnt let me do it. they said this was a new policy accross the whole of teh Bellerock casinos. Me thinks the reps of this group dont realy have any clue about what their saying as they are constantly conflicting with each other.