888.com Claims I Abused Their Bonus?

[ACallin]

Hello,

I signed up for 888.com thinking that their $200 match bonus would be a good deal for me to play some blackjack on. I deposited $200 using neteller. I read in the terms and conditions that I had to wager 20x the bonus, but must have not noticed they had a special wagering requirement of 50x the bonus for neteller deposits. I don't understand that, but ok.

Anyways, I ended up playing 3 hands of $10 each and was getting very bored since their software is insanely slow. I wanted to get to $4000 wagered so I could cash out or bust in the process. I started to martingale pretty much every hand, stopping when I was betting $100 a hand. During this run I had a nice luck streak and ended up cashing out $930 after wagering $4000. Lucky me.

A few days later I get an email from 888.com saying I have abused their bonus, they are closing my account and they are only returning my $200 deposit. They also informed me that the bonus requirements were 50x for neteller. So I had to wager another $6000 before cashing out.

WHAT? I won that money fair and square and I don't even know how to abuse a bonus. Is that even possible? I understand that I would have to wager $6000 more but why steal my money? Why close my account? I am extremely mad that they are just returning $200 to me and keeping the extra $730 to themselves. If they want to close my account for "abusing" a bonus, I guess they can do that... but shouldn't I get ATLEAST $730 transferred to my neteller instead of $200? They can take the extra bonus money, but I won that $530 without dropping below $200.

Please give me some comments casinomeister. I don't know what I am supposed to do. 888.com isn't giving me any answers when it comes to why they banned my account and stole my money.

[vinylweatherman]

Usually, it is enough that you played Blackjack. By far, most claims by casinos of "bonus abuse" are where players have played Blackjack and won. If you had played other games, the likelihood of being accused of this are much smaller. 888 seem to have a funny view about Neteller, preferring instead credit card deposits - they told me this when I asked about it, and decided not to play anymore as I have credit cards in UK pounds, which makes it uneconomic to deposit, even more so than with Neteller.

888 were involved a while ago with "black hat" marketing tactics, and do not appear in the accredited list here. Although based in Gibraltar, their behaviour is closer to that expected of an RTG Costa Rican operator. They gain many customers through direct advertising, so are able to live with the loss of custom from experienced players. The only recourse is a complaint to Gibraltar, but this seems unlikely to get beyond going on file.

[aka23]

I gained nearly as much on the sign-up bonus playing blackjack and cashed out without issue. I've also bet well over $100 per hand while playing the monthly bonus without issue. This is the first I've heard of such a problem. Two possible reasons for the difference are: attempting a cash out before completing Neteller wagering and making a large gain while using large bets.

If you do not have luck with 888 support and Casinomeister, try eCOGRA dispute mediation (888 is on the eCOGRA approved list) -- http://www.ecogra.com/dispute.aspx?Page=3&OP=P

[ACallin]

I just sent another email to 888.com and received another response not answering my question.

Here is step by step of what I did.

• Signed up to 888.com, deposited $200 using NETeller.
• Played 3 hands of blackjack at $10 each for about $1000 of wagering.
• Started to get bored, began martingale. Played about 5 hands of $100 doubling a 11 against a dealer 6 on one of them and winning.
• Hit $4036 wagering. Figured I was good to cash out now since I didn't know NETeller had special requirements.
• Cashed out $936.50. Waited a few days.
• Received an email saying I abused the bonus, they will return my $200. My account is closed.
• 4 emails back and forth, same generic response not answering my question of how I was abusing the bonus.

Now, they say the matter is closed. I don't think so. This is my money. I am owed $536.50 still. That is including the $200 they returned as my deposit and the $200 bonus that is their's to keep seeing as how I did not finish the $10000 wagering requirements.

Should I contact eCOGRA now? This is rediculous. I always figured 888.com was a reputable company.

[jerrylee]

[*]Hit $4036 wagering. Figured I was good to cash out now since I didn't know NETeller had special requirements.

ACallin you answered your own question. You didn't read the bonus terms and they are 50x for NETeller.

from their site
"All Welcome Bonuses, 888-Day Bonuses ($88 Bonus) and Happy Hour Bonuses received via funds Deposited by NETELLER may be Cashed Out only after an amount totaling no less than 50 times the Bonus amount has been wagered."

Conclusion, you broke the terms. Ridiculous would be trying to PAB or complain elsewhere. When will players ever learn??? Read the bonus terms and understand them before playing! You can't blame the casino when the info is readily available.

[ACallin]

ACallin you answered your own question. You didn't read the bonus terms and they are 50x for NETeller.

from their site
"All Welcome Bonuses, 888-Day Bonuses ($88 Bonus) and Happy Hour Bonuses received via funds Deposited by NETELLER may be Cashed Out only after an amount totaling no less than 50 times the Bonus amount has been wagered."

Conclusion, you broke the terms. Ridiculous would be trying to PAB or complain elsewhere. When will players ever learn??? Read the bonus terms and understand them before playing! You can't blame the casino when the info is readily available.

Every casino I have ever played at refunds the money into your account if you haven't cleared the wagering requirements. They don't steal your money.

[thetic]

I am with you here Acallin.

IMHO the casino should have contacted you to explain the position, returned the full amount including your winnings to your casino account and then made you play through the rest of the WR before you could withdraw.

I do not think they are stealing your winnings by not giving them to you now but think that closing the account at this stage is a little severe.

[casplayer]

ACallin you answered your own question. You didn't read the bonus terms and they are 50x for NETeller.

from their site
"All Welcome Bonuses, 888-Day Bonuses ($88 Bonus) and Happy Hour Bonuses received via funds Deposited by NETELLER may be Cashed Out only after an amount totaling no less than 50 times the Bonus amount has been wagered."

Conclusion, you broke the terms. Ridiculous would be trying to PAB or complain elsewhere. When will players ever learn??? Read the bonus terms and understand them before playing! You can't blame the casino when the info is readily available.

do you even know how hard it is for unexperienced players to properly read the bonus t&cs of casinos?
For a professional business, like 888.com is supposed to be, the return of the funds into the casino account and an email notification about the outstanding WR would be the right thing to do.

[cheekymonkey]

Why anyone would want to play at 888 is beyond me.

They take weeks to pay and their CS is amongst the worst in the business.

Keep pursuing it ACallin. Ask to speak to the manager everytime you ring them. Keep emailing them all the time - don't stop. Just ask for your money back to complete the WR. Do not give up.

Good luck.

[GForceT1]

Hi, I am pretty new here. Lots of reading and little posting, because I am a newbie
Today 2 friends of mine told me they were almost instantly blocked as 'abuser' on 888. They were told that a 'process check' had been done and that they found suspicious software running along with the casinosoftware. (in other words: he was acused of using a 'bot'; dont know if such a thing exists)
Maybe they did something like that on your software to?
I was wondering if they are allowed to do that? Isn't that invading your own privacy?
Sounded very strange when I heard so, and I am really thinking of not playing there. To bad for that nice bonus.