Should I contact ecogra?

[helloworld96]

Grand Hotel Casino owes me $14,350.00 in withdrawals, the most recent of which was on 2/2/07, the oldest about 2 weeks prior to that. I have called and emailed customer service repeatedly and have been told that they are having payout problems due to US regulations. Each time I talk to them they say that they believe the problems are resolved and I should have my money in 3-5 days. After 5 days I call them back and find out there was another problem, but it was resolved...just wait another 3-5 days.

Had I known about this site, I would have known not to play at Grand Hotel...unfortunately it's a little late for that. My question is, is there any benefit in contacting ecogra? I keep clinging to the hope that I'll see this ACH deposit show up any day now. Does ecogra actually help with these matters? I would appreciate any input as I am new at this. Thank you.

ed

[ok2playme]

Grand Hotel Casino owes me $14,350.00 in withdrawals, the most recent of which was on 2/2/07, the oldest about 2 weeks prior to that. I have called and emailed customer service repeatedly and have been told that they are having payout problems due to US regulations. Each time I talk to them they say that they believe the problems are resolved and I should have my money in 3-5 days. After 5 days I call them back and find out there was another problem, but it was resolved...just wait another 3-5 days.

Had I known about this site, I would have known not to play at Grand Hotel...unfortunately it's a little late for that. My question is, is there any benefit in contacting ecogra? I keep clinging to the hope that I'll see this ACH deposit show up any day now. Does ecogra actually help with these matters? I would appreciate any input as I am new at this. Thank you.

ed

Join the crowd. See the posts in River Belle and you will see you are not alone. I all can tell you is you are in good company with some of the most intelligent people in this industry. I filed a claim with eCOGRA. Tex is a nice guy with great respond time. However, I don't think anything can help get paid faster except TIME!

Charles

[helloworld96]

Received emails from Grand Hotel today. Noticed they pushed up my withdrawl dates by two weeks (actually date on this one was 2/2, not 2/14 like the email says) so they don't look so bad. Here's their latest...

Cashier@eprocessingservices.com (Cashier)
To: helloworld96@hotmail.com


Subject: IMPORTANT - Delayed Cashin Notification


Dear Edward Roberts, Account number:
Thank you for choosing Grand Hotel Casino. We would like to apologize on behalf of the Casino for the recent delay in the receipt of your funds as below: Withdrawal date: 14/02/2007 00:00:04Withdrawal amount: USD 8000 We are pleased to confirm that our new processor has now expedited these winnings. The funds should reach you within 3 - 10 business days from the receipt of this email. There was a large backlog of transactions to process, which is the reason why the payment of your ACH transfer took longer than usual. May we take this opportunity to stress that due to the current situation with USA Laws regarding on-line gaming has meant that most on-line Casinos are experiencing the same problems. We have tried and are still trying to manage the situation in the best possible way and will be able to still offer our services despite some slight delays. We wish to thank you for your patience and co-operation in this matter and also apologize for the delay in answering your recent emails. Both E-processing Services and the # Casino have experienced a larger than usual emails and phone calls volume due to the above problems. For this reason we kindly ask you to bear with us and keep your enquiries in regards to these specific cashins to a minimum, as the above information is the most updated we can offer at the moment.

Kindest regards, E Processing Services On Behalf of Grand Hotel Casino

[vinylweatherman]

eCogra can only handle complaints about seal holders, or any casinos who have submitted an application for one. Other complaints may well serve as information, but there is little eCogra can do about non-members.

This problem with paying US players is becoming more and more public, still, casinos are happy to accept US deposits while keen to play down the risk of delay in withdrawals. Many players deposit and lose, so benefit the casino while not finding out about withdrawal problems.
For US players , it seems that CAN they pay is now more important than WILL they pay; with problems with reputable brands being unable to process payments outnumbering problems with refusal to pay.

I saw an earlier thread that suggested that most MG brands use one central processor for withdrawals, and this processor stopped processing US payments, but the casinos delayed telling players till the delays became noticeable. The new processor seems to be in place, with BelleRock mentioning a further 15 day delay for "due dilligence" during which no actual processing will take place. It is looking like April before the backlog will clear, with no guarantee that this new processor will stick around in the long term. They may well jump ship come July, when the 270 day window is up and banks in the US have to have all blocks up and running. It is likely that non-compliance will then be fiercely pursued by the DoJ (not that it isn't being fiercly pursued even now!)

[vinylweatherman]

Join the crowd. See the posts in River Belle and you will see you are not alone. I all can tell you is you are in good company with some of the most intelligent people in this industry. I filed a claim with eCOGRA. Tex is a nice guy with great respond time. However, I don't think anything can help get paid faster except TIME!

Charles

Great Guy for a Lass aint (s)he


From eCogra site:-

Tex Rees, the eCOGRA Fair Gaming Advocate is responsible for this and she has the experience and independent advisory contacts to quickly investigate any issues. If a decision is against the site, immediate remedial action is required.

[ok2playme]

Great Guy for a Lass aint (s)he


From eCogra site:-

Oops! Nothing like getting caught with your pants down (or should I say skirt)! However, I have a great excuse.......I have been crying so hard since waiting on a payment from River Belle for $8,000.00 since 02/11/07 that I can barely read through the emails that keep contradicting the one before from River Belle that I did not take time to notice Tex is a Lass and not a Guy. What do think? Good excuse? Tex, if you are listening - please accept my apologies!!!

Charles

[vinylweatherman]

Oops! Nothing like getting caught with your pants down (or should I say skirt)! However, I have a great excuse.......I have been crying so hard since waiting on a payment from River Belle for $8,000.00 since 02/11/07 that I can barely read through the emails that keep contradicting the one before from River Belle that I did not take time to notice Tex is a Lass and not a Guy. What do think? Good excuse? Tex, if you are listening - please accept my apologies!!!

Charles

It's common, "Tex" is not exactly a "girly" sounding name.
It could be a deliberate trap for those that like to "Namedrop", such as "Oh, I know Tex personally, so pay up or else, I first met HIM at the ICEi show". You then have the casino sniggering "Gotcha!"

[sdaddy]

To the OP: I would certainly recommend filing a complaint with eCOGRA about this issue. I recently had a problem with unreasonable document requests from another MG casino and she got it resolved within a day.

[helloworld96]

A positive update. I received an ACH deposit today for $6000.00 from Grand Hotel Casino! They still owe me another $8000.00, but it looks like there is some hope for Microgaming payouts.

ed

[eduun]

its nice to read that some people are starting to get paid. This forum has been really depressing in the last 2 months reading about people not getting paid being lied to etc.
good luck in getting your remaining money!!!

liz