Bonus Complaint Gala Casino Removed Winnings & Bonus

[andy121]

So i signed up to GalaCasino around a month ago using the 200% bonus they were offering Link Outdated / Removed on the forums. They took an age to verify my ID (i assume it got lost the fist time?) and then when they did verify it they declined my withdrawal and confiscated any winnings to the value of £278.

Heres the email i received:

I am writing to advise you that you broke the terms and conditions of the 200% slots bonus by playing roulette initially to boost his balance. That game is restricted when this bonus is active and hence all winnings are void. Your initial deposit remains in his account.

Now i realised there were CERTAIN restrictions on roulette but i tried to stay well within them as to avoid issues. I've been through the t&c again relating to the bonus (

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) and the only terms i can see which are relevant are "Players deemed at the sole discretion of the promoter to be adopting a low risk betting strategy to clear wagering will have the bonus along with any winnings removed. This includes, but is not limited to, betting on red or black" and in their general promo terms it states "Players cannot bet more than 20% of the bonus amount in a single bet or game round on any of the casino games for the duration of the bonus, otherwise the bonus and all associated winnings may be voided.". I emailed Gala to ask which term i had broken and was told it was the low-risk term.

In my case i initially played single straight up bets on 10 to the value of £20 each! They say no bets more than 20% of the bonus and no red/black but my highest spin was under 10% of my balance on a SINGLE number.

I don't like 'spirit of the promotion' clauses as much as the next guy but i do understand why some casinos feel the need for them. Gala are accredited on here and i think that if they are actively applying is a 'spirit of the promotion' style clause they should be removed. Their CS don't seem to want to hear about the matter any more either so i've pretty much written off my money but i'll be avoiding gala/coral related sites in future.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

TBH I think you're pretty much stuffed because you started off playing roulette which is a very low house edge game, with the obvious intention of boosting your bankroll before seeing out wagering (which I assume you did on the slots?). This in itself could easily be construed as a 'low risk' strategy.

Also, on the T&Cs page you linked to there's this term:

The bonus shall expire within 14 days after acceptance of the bonus. If wagering has not been completed by then, or funds have been used to wager on any games other than slots, the entire bonus balance (bonus + winnings) shall be removed.

Pretty clear cut to me I'm afraid, I'd write the money off if I were you, and I'm not really sure what grounds you expect your complaint to stand on either.

 

[DepositSpinLose]

yes chop

I was thinking of the odds too.......the wheel is 35 to one and not sure (lol) but isn't cards like 50/50 but the edge is always on the house's side? this is too close and why the house states that such games are either restricted or have really low %'s on dollars wagered.

not much of a wheel or card player but it is what it is, odds are better on those than just regular slots play to meet requirements.

 

[bpb]

So betting at 35:1 odds is "Low risk"? Looks like Gala might be in financial trouble.

 

[andy121]

TBH I think you're pretty much stuffed because you started off playing roulette which is a very low house edge game, with the obvious intention of boosting your bankroll before seeing out wagering (which I assume you did on the slots?). This in itself could easily be construed as a 'low risk' strategy.

Also, on the T&Cs page you linked to there's this term:

The bonus shall expire within 14 days after acceptance of the bonus. If wagering has not been completed by then, or funds have been used to wager on any games other than slots, the entire bonus balance (bonus + winnings) shall be removed.

Pretty clear cut to me I'm afraid, I'd write the money off if I were you, and I'm not really sure what grounds you expect your complaint to stand on either.

Looks like they changed the terms since i signed up. It originally had a table of contributions based on game, roulette was listed as 20% and that term wasn't present. I did most of the remaining wagering on slots yes but also roulette again (same £20 bets as before).

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Looks like they changed the terms since i signed up. It originally had a table of contributions based on game, roulette was listed as 20% and that term wasn't present. I did most of the remaining wagering on slots yes but also roulette again (same £20 bets as before).

Ahhh right, that changes the situation then, if roulette was an explicitly allowed game at the time you took the bonus AND you only bet on single numbers, that makes the low risk charge against you far shakier.

Did you grab a copy of the T&Cs page at the time?

They still might say that using a game with a small house edge to boost your bankroll and then wager on slots is a low risk strategy, but it doesn't really hold up if roulette was an explicitly allowed game and you only bet on single numbers.

 

[DepositSpinLose]

sorry bph

that's what I mean, I don't know online %, all I know is if you bet 1$ on the wheel at b&m is 35 to 1 to hit. for that matter I bet 5$ on 17, gave the pit $10 and spent/lost the rest on machines.

 

[andy121]

Ahhh right, that changes the situation then, if roulette was an explicitly allowed game at the time you took the bonus AND you only bet on single numbers, that makes the low risk charge against you far shakier.

Did you grab a copy of the T&Cs page at the time?

They still might say that using a game with a small house edge to boost your bankroll and then wager on slots is a low risk strategy, but it doesn't really hold up if roulette was an explicitly allowed game and you only bet on single numbers.

Not too sure if i did take a screenshot, it was definitely there in a table because i copied & pasted it back to them in an email. Going to have to see if i can find a cached version somewhere online, its my own fault if i didn't take a screenshot i know *rolls eyes*.

 

[vinylweatherman]

It would be easier to PAB if you are sure an earlier set of terms applied to your play than the current set, which does restrict play to slots alone.