Iwager.com(Worldgaming won't pay

[dovmin]

I won at Iwager casino $850, they closed my account and paid only the deposit back telling me my country is not allowed to play at their casino and that they accept players from United State and Canada only.

I went to the registration page and saw that yes, only Us and Canada were there.

The only problem is that when I registered there Israel was between the countries they accepted putting me in a no winnings situation. I lost they took the money if I win they don't pay.

Dear D.

Thank you for your email. Your account was inactivated due to the fact
that we
do not accept accounts from your location. Your account will remain
inactive.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

Should there be anything else we may assist you with, please do not
hesitate
to contact us.

Kind Regards,
Hilary

I submited a pitch a bitch but the Casinomeister probably found it hard to deal with them.

[Casinomeister]

...I submited a pitch a bitch but the Casinomeister probably found it hard to deal with them.

This was their response:

Dear Bryan,

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we do not accept customers from
anywhere other than the United States and Canada. This is due to a recent
change in the rules of the site. We have apologized to D. for any
inconvenience caused to him by this situation and we have returned his
original deposit of $1,000.00.

If you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not
hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,
Hilary
--
iWager.com Support
1800-996-5152

and this:

I am the owner of iWager.com. We stopped taking none USA and Canada players
almost 4 months ago because of all the fraud coming out of Israel, Poland,
Germany etc etc. Our system was supposed to of removed all of those accounts
but I guess one slipped through. Just so you know this player was one of the
ones we thought might be cheating and encouraged us to change the rules. We
had no proof so we paid him his winnings the first time he played but then
we changed our rules and we are entitled to do so. Thanks.

[caruso]

Yuh, nothing wrong with them deactivating his account. However, a lot wrong with them waiting to do it when he wins, and using it as an excuse to deny winnings.

They need to pay the winnings first if they want to respect accepted decent casino protocl, then deactivate his account. Since this apparently ony happened to one player, this shouldn't be a problem.

Also, nice of the owner to say they think this player MIGHT be a cheat! That's certainly a new tactic. How would he feel if everyone said they thought he might be a cheat himself, leaving this player's account open until he won? Pretty low blow, that.

Payment first, account closure second. That's the drill.

[vinylweatherman]

I have seen so many of these allegations of cheating levelled at certain players, but how exactly does one "cheat" at an online casino (other than regularly beating bonuses, or opening multiple accounts to claim more than one of each type of bonus when only one is allowed per person).

Seems he cheated because he is Israeli, not for how the games were played, as in "might be cheating". I note that only US and Canada are accepted, so these two countries behave and do not cheat, but EVERY other country, including my own, are hotbeds of cheating fraudsters. Surely players should be banned when they are found to be cheating.
My cynical view is that the US and Canada have the same amount of "cheating" as the other countries, but the casino will not ban these countries as this will be cutting off 80%+ of their customer base; but the smaller minority groups are expendable.
If I was American, I would possibly be insulted, as the suggestion is that US players, despite being the most prolific, do not have the wit to beat the casinos at their own game.

I would like to hear EXACTLY what these Israeli, German etc players are doing to earn this reputation (obviously in general terms, not by named example, due to player confidentiality). If it is nothing more that gambling "responsibly", by playing the games well, and choosing to accept only the best of the many promotional offers, rather than going "on tilt" and feeding the casino's coffers, I would say it is the casino that is cheating, not the wise players.

[dovmin]

Talking about cheating, they sent me an email not so long after the cashin that they are returning the deposit back and nothing came thru

If I remember well only after about 10 emails they return the deposit of $1000.

There were terms and conditions, Israel was not under the banned countries when I played there. They let me play, I did not cheat, how can I possibly cheat. If I could cheat I would have made Millions and not only $850 from Iwager.

Iwager decided not to pay because it was good and comfortable for them not to pay. I understood that if Iwager changes his casino to accept only 2 countries they were probably mad they did not make money from other countries but it is not my problem.

A casino business is a simple business, pay promptly once a player cashout and take the losses once a player lose.

[spearmaster]

I don't buy the owner's excuse that "one player slipped through". In fact, I find that highly unlikely if the "system" was supposed to remove all those players.

I hate to say it - but I smell the exact same odor that arose with the Bella Vegas issue.

Yes, the casino is entitled to change the rules. No, the casino is not entitled to withhold winnings because their "system" failed.

[paul02085]

I don't buy the owner's excuse that "one player slipped through". In fact, I find that highly unlikely if the "system" was supposed to remove all those players.

I hate to say it - but I smell the exact same odor that arose with the Bella Vegas issue.

Yes, the casino is entitled to change the rules. No, the casino is not entitled to withhold winnings because their "system" failed.

I agree 100%. Vague statements about player "might have been cheating" and that he "slipped through" the crack are no reason to take the players winnings. The casino owner should provide proof of cheating or else pay the man/woman his/her money including winnings.

I am sure they would have gone to all of this trouble to refund his deposit had he lost it.

Looks like the CASINO might be the one cheating in this case.

[suzecat]

My cynical view is that the US and Canada have the same amount of "cheating" as the other countries.

I'd say they have more cheating. If the US/Canada comprise 80% of the player base, I'd say the law of averages dictate more cheating is being done by these (US/Canadian) players. And yet few casinos ban play from these countries. So there must be something else going on that has yet to be disclosed.

[dovmin]

More about cheating: I played and cashed out on December 26 2004

They refunded the deposit back on July 2005.

I had to send many emails, sometime they ignored me and sometime just replied that they transfer the email to the account department.


I would not trust them.

[jetset]

If this "no Israelis" country exclusion was not in force when Dovmin wagered and won then it is irrelevant to his situation. The casino is bound by the T&Cs applicable at the time of the wager, and there is no way around that but dishonesty on the part of the player.

Saying that the player "might" have been doing something wrong doesn't cut it as far as I am concerned - if there is no firm evidence of dishonesty against him and he complied with the T&Cs in force at the time he should be paid in full.

Once that has been done, the casino can deny him further access, but first they need to pay what is promised and due if they are to retain any sort of integrity and reputation in an industry based on trust.

And what's the 7 month delay in returning his deposit all about? That really sucks and puts a further pall over this outfit and its owner.

This issue has the potential to escalate, and if it does it will be an interesting test of World Gaming's attitude toward fair treatment for the player.

The "old" World Gaming was sadly lacking in this area, and many of the veteran players will remember with bitterness the large number of players stiffed by World Gaming not taking action against a bunch of their licensees who screwed many players on a messed-up bonus (on the casino/software side to boot) several years back.