A Unique Problem with Intercasino - need advice

[mogbert]

I've been playing on Intercasino for a few months now and I haven't had a problem depositing or withdrawing my money. Unfortunately, the last withdrawal I attempted to make earlier in December resulted in my account being locked. I've been in sporadic communication with some of the support staff at Intercasino and this is, from the best I can understand, the situation.

My Neteller account was created with an American address whereas my Intercasino account has my current address in South Korea. That's not a problem -- with the current US laws, I can understand why Intercasino would want to be cautious. The reason my addresses don't match is because I have accepted a position as a teacher in South Korea -- where I have been for the past several months. When I explained this to Intercasino, they asked for a photo ID and a utility bill with my proof of residence in South Korea. That's understandable and I was more than happy to provide them with such. This is where it gets tricky...

After waiting about a week for the casino to get back to me, they responded by telling me there is nobody on staff who can read Korean and asked if it would be possible for me to provide a translation of my utility bill and government issued ID. I'm not really sure of how I can do that; my guess is photoshopping an English translation onto the scans wouldn't be the most official thing to do. I've even gone so far as to provide a bank statement from my bank in South Korea along with a document from the school I am employed at as further proof of my residency. Again, Intercasino was unable to read them and my account remains locked.

Finally, I was able to speak to someone from their customer service who informed me that my account would remain locked and my money would remain frozen unless I opened a new Neteller account. The problem with this is I play in American currency on various sites and opening a new account would not only be difficult (since my original Neteller account is rightfully linked to me on the different sites I play at), but I would also incur the Neteller conversion fee with every single transaction I make.

It's been almost a month since my account was locked and my money was frozen. As I mentioned, I appreciate that this is an unusual situation and that Intercasino has every right to be cautious but I have gone so far out of my way to prove that I do, in fact, work, live, and play out of South Korea and that the address discrepancy is because my Neteller account was created before I moved. I'm a bit apprehensive about bringing my situation here because I know Intercasino is a reputable business but I'm really at my wit's end about what I can do to have my account unlocked and my money returned to me.

I would very much appreciate any advice anyone may have.

Thank you.

[Vesuvio]

Intercasino are better than the other Cryptologic casinos, but in general it's much better to contact their payment processors directly: http://www.ecashdirect.net/contact.html

I'm not sure what you can do, but surely it's worth a try just getting a friend or colleague to translate your documents. Then send it to them as a Word file (or photoshop it as you said). The worst they can do is say it's insufficient, but at least you'll then know what they expect. Besides, I bet they can find someone to read Korean if they try hard enough!!

[johnsteed]

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I can understand your predicament, though I've been lucky and fortunate not have gone through as big of a problem as you're currently going through.


A word of caution though, don't draw too much attention (or at all) to the Korean banks, because it IS illegal to be gambling online out here. Now, a ton of Koreans these days do in fact gamble online, but you being a foreigner, you don't want to get tangled-up in that web (it's not so much you, but you're under contract therefore the responsibility of the Hogwan/Institute owner who could potentially get fined for HEAVY bucks... and the right authorities would DEARLY love to get a big fat reward with enough of a reason).


I seem to recall that there is a method of getting your bills authorized/printed-out in English, although you have to pay the extra fee to have that done. Not fun... Your best bet is to go to a local KT (Korean Telecom) or SK (Telecom) branch (there are a TON of these branches scattered around in each city), and see if they can help you out there.


If you've ever had mail forwarded to your current address in South Korea, that should be helpful. It's gone through the U.S. Postal Service, AND there should be a sticker with your current address on it. To be honest, I recall having a withdrawal problem with Fortune Lounge, and they needed some verification. That was helpful at that time.


Good luck!



Steed

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[vinylweatherman]

So, how DID Intercasino know the Neteller address was different. What were Neteller doing passing your personal info over to Intercasino?

Casinos ALWAYS take the position that we have to send in documents, but this seems to indicate that Neteller is enough for Intercasino to verify that there is an address mismatch.

Lastly, online gambling in the US is NOT illegal (yet?), but Cryptologic has banned all US players. In South Korea, online gambling IS illegal, so why does Cryptologic still take wagers from players resident there? This could look bad if ever the issue went to court, as in effect, Cryptologic are treating South Korean law with contempt, but are obeying the US lawmakers with the utmost vigour!

[Slotster!]

Originally Posted by vinylweatherman

as in effect, Cryptologic are treating South Korean law with contempt, but are obeying the US lawmakers with the utmost vigour!

And therein lies the morality of gambling companies the world over. As long as it LOOKS as though you're doing the right thing...

Brilliant point VM.

[GrandMaster]

Originally Posted by vinylweatherman

Lastly, online gambling in the US is NOT illegal (yet?), but Cryptologic has banned all US players. In South Korea, online gambling IS illegal, so why does Cryptologic still take wagers from players resident there? This could look bad if ever the issue went to court, as in effect, Cryptologic are treating South Korean law with contempt, but are obeying the US lawmakers with the utmost vigour!

Gambling company executives find it easier to avoid travelling to South Korea, if they have any worries about being arrested there in the first place.

[mogbert]

Well, after speaking to someone in their accounts department, it was determined that they will not be unlocking my account nor will they return my money (including my deposit!) unless I open a new Neteller account that is linked to my current Korean address.

I'm not sure how they even obtained my Neteller address, vinylweatherman. Of course, Neteller had to have given it to them, but I've been playing with Intercasino for a few months now and I have never experienced any difficulty depositing or withdrawing. The only reason I can think of for Intercasino to request my address from Neteller is because this withdrawal was a little larger than the ones I've made previously. That said, the withdrawal request was only for around $660.

I didn't actually realize that online gambling is illegal in South Korea. While this will definitely influence my gambling in the future, Intercasino's terms and services - as pointed out - do not prohibit South Koreans from playing on their site. With that in mind, can they really seize my money like this?

[vinylweatherman]

Originally Posted by mogbert

Well, after speaking to someone in their accounts department, it was determined that they will not be unlocking my account nor will they return my money (including my deposit!) unless I open a new Neteller account that is linked to my current Korean address.

I'm not sure how they even obtained my Neteller address, vinylweatherman. Of course, Neteller had to have given it to them, but I've been playing with Intercasino for a few months now and I have never experienced any difficulty depositing or withdrawing. The only reason I can think of for Intercasino to request my address from Neteller is because this withdrawal was a little larger than the ones I've made previously. That said, the withdrawal request was only for around $660.

I didn't actually realize that online gambling is illegal in South Korea. While this will definitely influence my gambling in the future, Intercasino's terms and services - as pointed out - do not prohibit South Koreans from playing on their site. With that in mind, can they really seize my money like this?

If you still have an interest in the US property, such as intending to return after working in South Korea, there should be no problem for intercasino. Their resolution is total crap, they are telling you to breach Neteller T & C in order to satisfy them. One way out could be to register a change of address on your current Neteller account, which would be within the T & C of one account per person. Neteller will most certainly want to revalidate the account by requesting the ID documents all over again.
After this is resolved, you had better stop gambling online while in South Korea, as this problem could surface again.
If you feel particularly bitter, having resolved to stop gambling, you could inform the South Korean authorities that Intercasino are "aiding and abetting" illegal activity, and show that they CHOOSE to do so in South Korea, but not in the US where they have decided to cancel all accounts and return funds. This will effectively end your online gambling, but it will draw attention to the fact that online casinos will obey specific countries rules only when their own "asses are on the line" at board level. South Korea MAY have extradition agreements with juristictions where Intercasino directors reside - so casino operators should rid themselves of this hypocracy and apply bans on ALL countries that legislate against online gambing, or let the US players back in (less the 11 states) till an actual law banning GAMBLING online makes it through congress.