Bonus Complaint Ladbrokes Bonus: Currency Dispute

[FourTeller]

Last weekend, I took part in Ladbrokes Casino's current blackjack promotion as described on their webpage. While a couple of the playthrough requirements have changed since then (i.e. the min. bet size and overall bonus WR have increased), the terms specifically relating to my complaint have not. Basically, I have a US$ account and claimed the maximum £40 bonus after following all the written rules to the letter, specifically accounting for and factoring in the current exchange rate. Yet, after completing the wagering requirements, I only got half the dollar equivalent - i.e. $40 instead of $80.

The customer rep who replied to my email query claimed that dollars and euros are supposedly not subject to currency conversion, a fact that is not stated anywhere on the promo page and has not been my (or others') experience in the past. Just last month I took part in another Ladbrokes promotion where the £ bonus amount was converted to US $ so this currency wrinkle, as far as I'm concerned, comes totally out of the blue and is completely unacceptable, especially when I followed all the stated rules - specifically these:

4. Players must purchase an amount equivalent to at least the minimum number of casino chips required to qualify. For example, if you are depositing in Hong Kong Dollars and the minimum purchase required is 50 casino chips, your deposit must be at least HK$500 to qualify.
5. Players must wager at least the minimum amount specified to qualify. For example, if you are playing in Singapore Dollars and the minimum stake required is 200 casino chips, you must stake at least 500 Singapore Dollars to qualify.

While I would probably not have been eager to participate in this promotion again this weekend considering that I lost money last time and didn't particularly like that BJ variation (not to mention the increased risk and variance), what truly annoys me even more than the missing $40 is that Ladbrokes apparently applies this currency condition inconsistently or purely at whim - plus the fact that CS has yet to reply to my last email questioning that point. So I've withdrawn my remaining funds and, barring a resolution to my complaint or public clarification of the purported rule in question, don't plan to return any time soon.

[Jufo]

I think the max bonus is 40 credits and playthrough 100 credits (now double as much). So the bonus is the same independent of currency. I don't see why you assumed otherwise?

[FourTeller]

Originally Posted by Jufo

I think the max bonus is 40 credits and playthrough 100 credits (now double as much). So the bonus is the same independent of currency. I don't see why you assumed otherwise?

First of all, the examples in the terms I state above clearly demonstrate that, at least in those particular Asian currencies, monetary amounts are converted to the GB£ equivalent - again, no mention of $ or € being excluded. Secondly, as I also mentioned, I deposited $50 for their £25 Three Card Poker promotion last month and was paid the same bonus amount. Even if that was somehow awarded in error, the wording of the T&Cs clearly implies that bonuses are awarded on a £ basis and all other currency sums are exchanged accordingly. If that is in fact not the case, then Ladbrokes should explicitly state so in the promotion's writeup.

[Jufo]

Originally Posted by FourTeller

First of all, the examples in the terms I state above clearly demonstrate that, at least in those particular Asian currencies, monetary amounts are converted to the GB£ equivalent - again, no mention of $ or € being excluded. Secondly, as I also mentioned, I deposited $50 for their £25 Three Card Poker promotion last month and was paid the same bonus amount. Even if that was somehow awarded in error, the wording of the T&Cs clearly implies that bonuses are awarded on a £ basis and all other currency sums are exchanged accordingly. If that is in fact not the case, then Ladbrokes should explicitly state so in the promotion's writeup.

I agree that the terms are not precisely formulated and they leave room for interpretation. My interpretation however was that the amount is 40 credits independent of currency (that's why they use wording 'credits' and not 'pounds'). If the bonus was different amount in different currencies, wouldn't they have included conversion rates in the TC, like "For this promotion one pound equals 2 USD". And it is always a good idea to check with CS before playing if the terms are not clearly stated.

[maxd]

I've alerted the Ladbrokes rep.

[FourTeller]

Originally Posted by Jufo

I agree that the terms are not precisely formulated and they leave room for interpretation. My interpretation however was that the amount is 40 credits independent of currency (that's why they use wording 'credits' and not 'pounds'). If the bonus was different amount in different currencies, wouldn't they have included conversion rates in the TC, like "For this promotion one pound equals 2 USD". And it is always a good idea to check with CS before playing if the terms are not clearly stated.

Yes, it is somewhat subject to interpretation, but Ladbrokes has had the same currency wording for a long time and - even if my own limited casino experience there is not enough to go by - other reports at a bonus forum I check from time to time confirm that the way I read this very first step:

1. Purchase £40 worth of casino chips from your bank card.

and the way it was applied previously in my case, i.e. £ being converted to $ or €, was in fact the norm, not the exception.

Another thing I did not mention before but reinforced my viewpoint is that I tried to claim their signup bonus last year based on the £1=$1 formula but was denied (for the first and only time to date at a casino). I didn't pursue the matter further or try to find out exactly what I did wrong because this was when Neteller (the only ewallet there at the time) was about to shut Canadian residents off and I did not want to risk having my funds stuck in the casino for months or pay a steep fee to have them wired to my bank account. In hindsight, the only part I could have messed up was the minimum bet (think it was 5 chips) and WR - because I did not convert from pounds to dollars.

As for CS, obviously I did not feel the need to clarify anything with them beforehand on this occasion based on all I expressed above. Plus anyone who has been an online gaming customer at multiple establishments for a decent length of time, as I have (about three years now), knows that they are often not the best authority on these issues as one is likely to get three answers from three reps to the same quesion - assuming they even respond to queries in the first place If they had written back confirming that last month's $50 bonus award was made in error or expressed any interest in my concern that there's no mention in the promotional T&Cs of the dollar or euro being treated differently than other non-pound units, then I'd have reconsidered even posting here at all.

[vinylweatherman]

With the legendary incompetence of Ladbrokes CS, they do NOT need this cumbersome and convoluted rule about currency exchanges that are sometimes applied, and sometimes not, seemingly without logic.

They say that the £ $ and € are not subject to conversion, yet when the player uses this rule for the sign-up bonus it seems they ARE subject to conversion just as the Hong Kong and Singapore dollars are.

Most casinos simply work in casino credits, but why, therefore, does the example even exist for Hong Kong dollars where 500 have to be purchased, with presumably all figures being multiplied by 10 for completing the promotion - in this case, clearly having to purchase £40, rather than 40 casino credits, in order to qualify.

[tomtom]

If you go to the cashier to transfer funds from sports to casino you'll see how many units of your currency you'll need to have 1 chip in the casino.

For USD, I think 1 credit is $1, for AUD it's $AUD2 required to purchase 1 chip , etc.
So 40 casino chips is $40 if you play in USD. I think Ladbrokes is right.

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by tomtom

If you go to the cashier to transfer funds from sports to casino you'll see how many units of your currency you'll need to have 1 chip in the casino.

For USD, I think 1 credit is $1, for AUD it's $AUD2 required to purchase 1 chip , etc.
So 40 casino chips is $40 if you play in USD. I think Ladbrokes is right.

This would depend upon the currency selected for the casino account.
Mine is in UK Pounds, and this makes it easy for me as I deposit in UK Pounds, and all the offers are made in UK Pounds. If the offer states the rules in terms of casino chips, then they are right when crediting $40 for an offer of "40 chips", however, if they say "deposit £xx or currency equivalent", then for a casino account in $ they should credit 80 chips, and require twice the deposit and wagering to qualify.
It would be far better to have ALL casino offers in terms of "chips", and forget about currency altogether. The banking screen will deal with the conversion, and painlessly if the player can specify the transfer in terms of "casino chips" when depositing, with the appropriate amount being calculated and moved out of the sports wallet to cover the requested "casino chips".
There would be more chance of their CS understanding the system as well

[happygobrokey]

how about a unified gaming standard currency? set a chip at some random amount, and have customers from anywhere buy in for whatever the amount of chips purchased cost in their pay method's currency. and bickety-bam, no more messing around with per-account currency issues.